TEAM CANDLAND

2011-04-24T08:49:00.003-04:00

HAPPY EASTER EVERY-BUNNY!

2011-04-23T04:18:00.003-04:00

let us not try and pretend I can catch up the last ....whatever many months.... in one blog post. i can't tell a short story. i'm too funny to condense. well, re-phrase, i amuse myself and i am trying to work on not torturing others with my endless witty inter-brain banter. so we will start here. its not the beginning, but a very good place to start. why now you ask? inspiration! in the form of a poem that i heard on the radio and realized, crap, i could have written that. instead, i will copy and paste and you can read it and say "crap, she could have written that". yes, i am delusional enough to think i could be as funny as Tina Fey. Hubby, should you be reading this ... i'm not holding my breath on that.... but just in case....please don't roll your eyes so far back into your head. one day they are going to get stuck like that. But courtesy of Ms. Fey, i present to for you to enjoy...

PRAYER FOR MY DAUGHTER

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, dammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

return of the princess roo

2010-08-21T08:10:00.003-04:00

after 5 VERY long weeks without my very special girl i was VERY glad to have her home. and her new friends were just sooo excited to meet her! of course we took her to mikes, in annapolis

sprinklers and popsicles

gal pals

2010-08-20T12:33:00.003-04:00

the day after our hershey park trip, miss roo headed off for her grand vacation west of the mississippi. a couple days after that, hubby departed for maryland. i had the super fun job of packing up our entire life and moving it. thank goodness for uncle wessy! he was scheduled to visit us while roo was gone and in one of many pieces of good luck was in nj just in time to drive the u-haul from nj to md!

and after all that stress and hustling and packing and moving...we found a nice place to relax and have fun....good adult fun!

the moving crew!

thank goodness we found golden tee!

this place is awesome! if you visit team candland, we take you to mike's in annapolis.

time flies when your turning your life upside down...again

2010-08-18T07:57:00.003-04:00

okay, okay...i know. i am a delinquent blogger. i'm sure ya'll missed my wit and charm and fabulous pictures of miss roo (oh i know that is what you really want)! well, it's my mission to catch ya'll up on the cra-zy summer we have had before summer is actually over!

we shall begin with our trip to Hershey Park. or, as i like to call it "the trip where we found out we were moving to maryland".

this little puppy is charlie. out of all the toys and crap at hershey park, all little miss roo wanted was daddy to play a carnival game and win her a prize. for a mere $2 happy kid, happy parents!

as the shorter parent, i get to experience the joy of the rocket ship ride. even though i am convinced one day the thing is going to snap and i will be hurled across the park and land on a cotton candy stand, i do it for the love of miss roo's giggle.

byeeee new jersey......helluuuuu maryland

2010-06-20T20:52:00.002-04:00

finally! some excellent news to share! mike has a new job in maryland....starting TOMORROW. he interviewed last week, was hired this week and left today to start his new job tomorrow. with reagan in arizona and new mexico for the next month and mike in maryland from monday to friday this week, i am a lonely gal. but not a bored one. gotta find a place to live, a way to move us, pack all of our stuff and move on down to maryland! whew! so much for a boring month without roo!

an open letter to those that i love

2010-04-13T13:21:00.005-04:00

dear friends and family...

yes, i have been quietly hiding under a rock for the past few months. no, its nothing personal that anyone said or did. i still love all my friends that are family and all my family that are friends. i have just have been selfish with my charming wit and personality lately.

2009 was a rough year for team candland. i was certain 2010 was going to be a whole new page in a whole new book. instead, the epic is carrying on and 2010 seems just to be another chapter in the same book of neverending wonder and doubt about what the next day will bring.

i know a lot of you are inquiring about our plans for the summer. if i knew what i was doing a week from today i would probably be better able equipped to worry about 3 months from now. as soon as i can get in a position to formulate some sort of plan i will be more than happy to share.

so i apologize to everyone and send love to all. please be patient with me while i try and find my way out from under the rock.

xoxo

sue

the first (real) snow of the year

2009-12-20T10:54:00.006-05:00

how perfect that the first day of winter brought us our first good snow! we waited with anticipation all day yesterday for the dumping that the news promised us. and while we were sleeping, all snug in bed, the snow came.

the super cute "snowman accessory kit" i bought was worth every penny....except the snow was too dry to stick together to make more than a bottom. which i quickly announced was the head.

reagan loves the snow!

mr. mike and his big red shovel. shoveling the alley is quite the workout!

after the snow fun we came inside for hot chocolate, oatmeal and now its time for boys to watch football and girls to go shopping! what fun winter is starting out to be!

the beginning of our 2009 christmas season

2009-11-27T19:41:00.004-05:00

tonight was the lighting of the town christmas tree at the park. i love my small town! there was hot cocoa, christmas carols and the promise of a special guest!

reagan immediately found a friend from school in the crowd. notice the use of hats and coats. it is beginning to feel a lot like christmas!

santa (after parking the sleigh at the fire station i suppose) arrived at the park courtesy of our local fire department!

santa was so sweet. he noticed how big reagan had grown since last year and reminded her to be a good girl and listen to her mommy and daddy.

reagan even got a special prize from santa....a little christmas bear she quickly named "sweetie bell" and she has announced that she is taking her bear for show and tell!

november is half way over?

2009-11-14T09:29:00.003-05:00

what a crazy month it has been so far. i knew i was going to regret not posting all these adventures right away!! so here is a quick peek at what we have been up to since halloween. they are out of order! :( i promise to post better going forward! xoxo

this is in new york. does anyone recognize it? it is the house from the will smith movie "i am legend". we passed by it on our way to the path train. because i am uber-dork, i thought it was great fun that i had the dvd in my purse to mail back and i put in the mail box right across from the house! love it! i know....weird-o!

this is reagan's buddy ava from school. well, reagan insists on calling her eva. ava doesn't seem to mind. ava and her mommy (laurie) went to the magic show that our church had. magical silly willy delighted and amazed. so did the tattooes, face paint and balloons!

these are our friends crystal and john. we had a fabulous time on a beautiful day with them. church, lunch, zoo, amazing dinner (made by crystal)! an awesome time with awesome people! :)

ah! magical silly willy picked reagan as a special assistant. she was so excited and then got a little stage fright maybe? but she was super cute and had a lot of fun.

reagan and ava at mcdonalds. these two angels sat and ate lunch at their very own table and were sooo good!

crystal and i at martha stewart. the cheese show! fabulous! crystal is from manhattan and is an amazing tour guide of the city. so fun!

i may be creating a monster.....

2009-10-28T11:15:00.003-04:00

reagan saw this at target the other day and said "look mom....its a martha stewart show!"
when i was working on a craft a couple days later she pulled up a chair next to me and said "today on the martha stewart show...."

then yesterday we watched martha stewart on demand for over an hour at her insistance. she said "please mommy, can we watch martha stewart? please?"

too stinkin' cute!

reagan's first school dance.....

2009-10-24T12:46:00.002-04:00

last night was the parents guild halloween party at reagan's school. it was 2 hours of way too loud music ("is this music really loud, or are we too old?"), a lot of kids (grades prek through 3rd)
running around and screaming ("does that kid have parents here") and warm soda and treats (reagan could often be found at the treat table).

reagan has her own unique style of dancing (its like elaine from sienfeld) and was fascinated at watching the others dance. the kids had fun and the parents only had to endure 2 hours. i asked her if i could go to all her school dances with her and she said yes. mike says that won't work forever and i told him just wait and see! :)

this is halloween...this is halloween....halloween....halloween

2009-10-10T13:13:00.003-04:00

pumpkin decorating

if you haven't watched nightmare before christmas at least 100 times you are really missing out.

actually, it is one of my faves and my pick for family movie night last night.

but it was perfect to get us in the mood for our traditional pumpkin decorating at Michaels Arts and Crafts.

Family Fun Day at the NY Aquarium

2009-10-03T19:18:00.003-04:00

thanks to Bank of America for the fabulous "Museums on Us" program we spent the day at the New York Aquarium!

underneath the "waterfall"

we all decided the walrus was pretty awesome. fat, lazy, wrinkly....just like our bulldog!

and then.......

the aquarium is at coney island and we took a walk on the beach since we were there

Harvest Days at Terhune Farm

2009-09-30T18:24:00.003-04:00

Me: Look at Mommy.

Reagan: Cheese.

Me: Look at Mommy

Reagan: Cheese.

she loves loves loves feeding goats

taking time to stop and smell the flowers

w
wagon ride around the farm

pumpkin princess

i'm a dork....and i know it.....

2009-09-14T21:08:00.004-04:00

these are some pictures i took yesterday at the baseball game that tickled my funny spot:

either those are tiny baseball players, or a giant bear

tiny baby wearing giant headphones

baby annabelle hogging the peanuts

the first (faux) day of school

2009-09-14T19:52:00.003-04:00

today was a day for those kids who were not quite ready to ditch mommy and daddy for a day of school. we all know that is not our child! 22 groups of parents and kids gathered in the parking lot for the first day of school. well, what i have dubbed the first (faux) day of school. it lasted an hour. oh well, next week will be another blog with the first (full) day of school.

newark bears baseball.....who knew!

2009-09-03T21:34:00.007-04:00

today we had a pleasant surprise of free tickets to a newark bears baseball game....and when we got there we were even more surprised to find:

face painting

a balloon artist

a bouncy house (and giant giant slide)

our old buddy rupert ("root beer")

his sister effa

no big whoop....

2009-08-28T17:03:00.003-04:00

i just love the 'tude in this pic! she has been fighting on wearing this outfit forever and once she had it on she loved it. "it's very stylish"--reagan.

another rainy day in new jersey (thank you tropical storm danny) had us heading to the mall for relief from our nest.

she was oddly excited to see this guy at old navy and asked to have her picture taken. what-ev!

prima ballerina

2009-08-27T14:11:00.004-04:00

in anticipation of reagan's ballet class she has been dressing up in her new leotard and neede a fluffy tutu. she had exact specifications for said tutu and i think i hit them all. now onto making a black and orange one for halloween! :)

meet sarafina.........

2009-08-21T08:24:00.004-04:00

my new friend and confidant.....we will make beautiful things together.....and laugh and laugh......

reagan is officially a international model....don't worry, it hasn't gone to her head

2009-07-16T00:49:00.001-04:00

reagan was asked to pose for a photo by a photographer for a magazine in japan while we were at the intrepid.
we were sent a copy of the magazine today.

i'm just trying to snuggle!

2009-07-14T10:48:00.002-04:00

fiona: "i'm not touching you."
sue: "get the camera, the dogs are being silly again."
oliver: "why me?"

insomnia and modge podge.....

2009-07-12T08:37:00.004-04:00

we went to maryland last month and i collected shells. perfect shells. all about the same size. questions arose over what i was to do with said shells and why thier uniformity was such an issue. after a month of waiting patiently family fun magazine told me exactly what to do with the shells.

some stickers...a little modge podge....and whaa la!

seashell memory.

i even made a mini version out of baby shells that i can put in a coin purse and carry for those moments when i need to entertain on the go!

72 hours

2009-07-06T01:18:00.004-04:00

bacon underpants Y sweet treats Y benjmain franklin

theres an app for that Y twinsies

midnite snack at 10:30 Y walkin' it off Y bubba's dog house

buick flicker Y smells like chinese Y laughing to tears

miss you too much already....xoxo

i'm a winner!

2009-07-04T23:19:00.004-04:00

check out my winning blog at foodieslikeusblog.com!!

you may have seen me on tv...don't worry it hasn't changed me

2009-05-26T21:16:00.006-04:00

one of my favoritest things that i have done since moving to the east coast is visit the martha stewart show. i have been lucky enough to go twice in the past 6 months. the first time was, of course, magical because it was my first time. although, there are only my memories and my pictures. but the second time i went i got to go with cousin jill. so much fun! for so many reasons! fun to be with family! fun to see yourself on tv!

perfect friday....the end....finally!

2009-05-20T21:07:00.003-04:00

the friday that reagan and i went to the city, it didn't end at the zoo. we decided to peek our heads out of the park into the city and walk around a bit. we ended up at FAO Schwartz. overall, i don't think we were that impressed. over priced toys do nothing for either of us. we did however find the "big piano". that was perfection for reagan.

she was able to sing and dance and make music all at once.

the photos are blurry because she was a nonstop musical production!

on the way back to the subway we saw this guy and had to stop!

she was so excited to "play dress up in the city".

the perfect friday....part two

2009-05-17T19:02:00.009-04:00

i am not kidding when i say, go potty, get a snack.....this is going to be a loooong one!

after we had lunch it was time for the central park zoo . it is small, but very fun. we spent a lot of time just sitting and watching animals, which was a nice change of pace.

reagan in the rainforest

waving to the sea lions. this was her favorite place in the zoo. she did a lot of singing and dancing!

reagan waving to the polar bear, can you see him back there? he is doing the backstroke!

after the regular zoo we walked over to the children's zoo. it was so well done and so kid friendly. again, small, but sooo fun!

this is a lily pad bridge that goes over a little stream of water. it has a little spring in it so you can jump from pad to pad.

we found a little area that is a stage and seating used for animal shows. there were none when we were there, so reagan put on a show of her own!

reagan feeding sheep. she was a natural!

there were a lot of animals to climb on. next to this turtle were turtle "shells" so kids could slip in them and look like turtles. reagan wasn't into that!

this is one side of a fish observation area

this is the other side, looking across.

log tunnel to the rabbits

reagan rabbit!

the giant spider web was neat. i think this was one of her faves.

and that was the central park zoo and the childrens zoo. i highly recommend both. super fun, super cute!

the perfect friday....part one

2009-05-15T21:27:00.002-04:00

oh yes my dear friends, today was too much of a day to try and squeeze into one blog. i have never been one of those moms that takes a picture more than once. i tell reagan i am taking a picture, she does what she does, and i snap. today was the funniest day of pictures! i should preface this by saying that lately she has become an all singing all dancing whirling dervish! taking the dogs out....song and dance....making breakfast lunch or dinner....song and dance. so of course, a big day going to the city, was an all out musical spectacular!

this is waiting for the bus. she only went through 2 outfits today before settling on this one. fortunately, i have pretty much made her wardrobe very mix and match friendly....and she has a good sense of what is "stylish" (her new favorite word...used in context of course).

she loves the bus because they have big huge windows that she can stare out of. many songs were made about the colors of the seats (pink, blue, orange aaaaannnddd ssiiiiillllver). and she loves going in the tunnel!

we finally made our way to our subway train that would get us to the park. it was a lot of stairs and escalators and maybe one train in the wrong way. but we ended up in a completely empty subway car, which as is rare, is worthy of a picture. reagan is not into "pretty smile". she likes to make a face and see what it looks like!

once we finally made our way to the park, she decided that she wanted to hit the playground before the zoo. so we stopped at the first playground we found. she wasn't a fan of sand in her sandals. so "she" decided that we should just go to the zoo.

the "delacorte music clock" was a wonderful thing to come upon. we were lucky to see it twice. at the 12 o'clock hour (noon) it plays 'singing on the rain' and the animals go around. everyone stops to watch. reagan stops to watch everyone else stopping and watching!

so that is part one.....part two to come soon!

small town saturday.....LOVE IT

2009-05-06T19:37:00.003-04:00

reagan is building up her summer wardrobe. she looooves sundresses. it is not quite sundress weather though.

a matching pink tshirt and orange barettes make the perfect outfit for spring!

the gas station where we park had a "grand opening" under new ownership. the had kung fu panda. she loved it.

she is not a big fan of the hulk. when we first moved here mike and i rented the movie and reagan calls him the "scary mean man". the only way she would take a picture was with mike and i...and there was still a protest!

after that we went to my new favorite restaurant "the rice shop". it is this tiny little place a couple towns over. it maybe has 10 tables. it is super delish though! it will definately be a stop when we have visitors!

after reagan ate half of my lunch and half of mike's, she wanted to show off some moves!

just when i think i am crafty......

2009-05-01T23:22:00.003-04:00

i got a bug to make these headbands for reagan last week because we cut reagan's hair and she still wants to "do her hair". she can only wear headbands and barrettes. but store bought headbands are too big. so i started "surfing the net" and ran to michaels when i was struck by the lightening bolt of inspiration.....

nothing special, but i was pretty proud of myself.

Becca....

2009-04-29T23:00:00.001-04:00

i couldn't email the excitement, i could only post it to my blog....

daycation destination......fairmount art crawl philadelphia, pennsylvania

2009-04-27T17:17:00.006-04:00

we love going to philly. aunt marilee and uncle david are so much fun to be with. they know all the cool things in the city. philadelphia is a funny little city. the streets are exactly the same size as when the city was built-small, narrow, cramped. but they are filled with restaurants, stores, galleries and who knows what else (well, marilee and david do, actually).

this trip happened to coincide with the fairmount art crawl. we strolled around and every so often there would be a table with an art, a craft, or something fun to see. marilee knows i love trying to be crafty and reagan is a budding little crafter herself!

paper plate masks was the first table we stumbled upon.

we went into this crazy old used book store that went on and on and on. buried in a corner was the pre-requisite "old bookstore" cat.

our next find was the balloon artist

the park was very tempting, but metal park equipment with no shade does not exactly make sense. not that it stopped aunt marilee from trying! :)

reagan is obsessed with having her face painted. she saw a girl walking down the street with a rainbow on her face and this led to several blocks of conversation revolving around rainbow face painting.

totally worth it

after table upon table of crafts, we found the cupcake table

reagan's first (and hopefully last) drum circle

we finished the day with possibly the best ice cream i have ever had. real homemade ice cream made with butter fat by men with handlebar moustaches. the franklin fountain sooo delicious!

little builder

2009-04-19T21:12:00.000-04:00

little reagan loves to build.....

daycation destination......six flags great adventure

2009-04-19T18:27:00.005-04:00

let's face it....team candland loooves an amusement park. and after our first winter and all that we have been through we decided to treat ourselves to a special day. reagan reached the magic 36 inches that opened up a whole new world of rides.....

six flags adventure friends

this was by far reagan's favorite ride. it was in wiggles world and it takes them up and drops them down. she smiled and laughed the whole time. she also keeps a careful eye on who's ever on the ride with her to check out thier reaction. its a trip!

daddy was excited to take her on the pirate ship. you know the one that swings. i hate that thing. reagan loved it. she is a braver girl than i for sure! look how tiny she looks!

she also loves tea cups. this ride was like teacups in the air. it went high in the sky and round and round. see the ground below us??

another one that i was not about to do was the parachute drop. once i saw how high it went, i was so glad i was on the ground. reagan of course thought it was so great. they were so high in the sky i couldn't even see them!

and then they get dropped down. even better!

this little roller coaster was so funny. i had just been on a super scary roller coaster so i thought this would be a breeze. this little sucker had some kick!

it was a fabulously fun day. we are all a little pink from the sun. i told mike i don't know how i lived in arizona for so long! it was 80 degrees yesterday and i thought if it was any hotter i would just die!

i think it might really be spring now?

2009-04-19T18:19:00.002-04:00

with the lovely weather we have been having we have been to do lots of fun things. we are walking to play group (that is more than a walk, its a hike! not far, just steep.) riding trikes down the street to the bakery to buy a cookie. taking dogs for walks (more just to wear them out!)
the easter bunny brought fun spring surprises and now we can use them.....

sidewalk chalk is even more fun on the door to the basement. the sidewalk is so "boring" (guess who's new favorite word).

this is the window to our bedroom. reagan is talking to daddy and blowing bubbles for fiona.

spring time girl!

green! green! green!

easter morn and chicky poo

2009-04-12T13:12:00.005-04:00

note to self: easter on the east coast is a little colder than we are used to! of course, apparently no one told target either, because they didn't have the warmest selection! unfortunatley the pics we have of her in the dress (and turtleneck and tights) didn't turn out that great. it is supposed to be warm tomorrow so i am going to dress her up in it again and no one will ever remember that i took her easter pictures this year on monday!

it took me a loooong time to wake miss reagan up this morning. don't let the glazed look fool you. when she half opened her eyes, she immediately asked if the easter bunny had come.

not only did he fill her basket, but he hid some eggs. what a swell bunny!

fiona is curious. or nosy. sometimes i can't decide.

the children's choir had a performance today in church. this is just the practice before hand.

it was a lovely performance. there were probably 10 more kids in addition to these girls.

and now, we would like you to meet chicky poo.

the easter bunny left reagan an egg that grows and then hatches in the water. when we got home from church we put it in a glass. upon realizing that reagan wanted to pick it up and move it....often....it was transferred into a cup. then finally we found a more permanent home. reagan decided it was a girl...of course...and has named her chicky poo.

chicky poo's container was looking a little, well, ghetto. so we added some stickers and a ribbon. now we just wait for her to hatch and then grow.

how exciting are we?

44 cents + 10 minutes = yummy donuts

2009-04-11T16:15:00.003-04:00

i saw this and thought reagan would love it soooo much! donuts are her fave. fresh donuts that she gets to make herself? are you even kidding me? i may never have to buy a store bought donut again!

ingredients:

can of biscuits

oil

cinnamon

sugar

we used the little cup that you use to dispense tylenol. this makes perfect holes.

i heated up a pan of oil and threw them in. they cook ridiculously fast.

reagan mixed together cinnamon and sugar and we poured it in a bag and added the cooked donuts and donut holes. shake shake shake. i would recommend removing then and letting them cool. i left them in the bag and the heat made condensation in the bag and if left too long, you'd end up with soggy donuts.

really, she does like them. i did not force her to do this. she just is under the weather. child abuse by forced donut making? really?

but now we all have ideas for the next time we make donuts. mike wants his with honey. i think with a medicine syringe, i could fill the holes with jam. i also want to do a chocolate gnache type topping. reagan wants powder sugar. fun cookie cutters would be good too! the possibilites are endless.

my little funny bunny

2009-04-11T16:09:00.004-04:00

i have dyed easter eggs every year as long as i can remember. when i was away at college i used the dorm kitchen! but i know my little bunny, and dropping eggs into a cup and waiting is just not her speed. so i found a water color dye kit for her to use. she was very excited. but she also has a nasty little cold. she did about half a dozen eggs and was wiped out. poor thing!

easter crafts!

2009-04-06T18:14:00.005-04:00

the amount of toliet paper that we go through as a little family of 3 is astounding! i have been hording the cardboard rolls for "something". i knew it was just a matter of time before i would think of the "something". and the something turned out to be this:

bunnies!

reagan's grocery list

2009-04-03T20:13:00.003-04:00

we have settled into a saturday routine. clean house in the morning and grocery shopping in the afternoon. reagan is a big help cleaning house. she is good at putting away her toys and dusting. grocery shopping she doesn't have as much fun. this week we are going to try something new. i made her a grocery list. when we get the item on her list, she can check it off. she watched me make it and is already excited!

oh martha!

2009-04-03T19:57:00.005-04:00

i know, i know. i have already been to martha. but i love love love it. and this time i was lucky enough to go with jill (mike's cousin) who lives in the city. it was so nice to spend time with someone who knows "my people" and to get a hug from family.

we had great seats. but all i can think when i see this picture is i need to lose 20 pounds. i gain weight in my face before any place else.

this is in the waiting room.
after the show martha. she normally does a little Q & A but this show was running late. she didn't even get to the stationary making. oh martha!

on the way to the subway (jill, i could have taken the "1". now we know!) i saw this. how could i not take a picture. it was an ad campaign for bounty paper towels. only in nyc!

reagan's new hair cut

2009-03-25T12:54:00.004-04:00

we decided to chop reagan's hair. she loves it. i love it. daddy loves it. everyone is happy!

my only regret is that aunt becca didn't do it.

maybe you had to be there

2009-03-24T18:33:00.003-04:00

the funniest thing happened today. out of the blue reagan runs into the room like this and says:

"hey...you remember me?" hysterical!

saturday of art and sandwiches

2009-03-22T18:08:00.005-04:00

this weekend we took reagan to the newark museum. the art project for the weekend was to re-create this painting. In his playful 'buddha @ hotmail' (2006), gonkar gyatso of london is even more direct in his look at the place of Buddha in international popular culture. he creates a kind collaged buddhist silhouette, using stickers depicting everything from marge simpson to hello kitty.

there couldn't have been a better craft for reagan! she loooves stickers.

for her next project, she arranged a landscape.

and showed it off!

for daddy's big trick, he made me a super yummy tuna melt. sooooo goood!

our little prince

2009-03-19T23:22:00.002-04:00

i know it is our fault. when we got oliver we spoiled him with trips to 'a day in paradise' every week. of course, he did have to defend himself against romeo. but he has always been 'my boy'. when i was pregnant he was the one that laid with me in the bathroom next to the toilet. and he would snuggle against me on the couch when i felt i couldn't be sick anymore. he is mostly patient with reagan and gives her a good warning when he's had enough of her. he has tolerated fiona (who grew bigger than him rather quickly) and lately will even let her get within a foot of him without freaking out. i know he gets grumpy when his hair gets too long. things being the way they are, i thought i would treat him to a hair trim......myself. he was patient and tolerant as long as he could stand (as he is in any situation....reagan dressing him up.....fiona sniffing in spaces and places...me flipping and flopping as i sleep). and although he is being a little standoffish right now, i know he appreciates the trim. he just wants to see what is coming to snuggle, sniff or dress him before they get there.

this was fiona's baby bed, but oliver likes to snuggle in it when he thinks no one is paying attention.

this is the "before".

he was really still and patient. probably because he didn't want to lose an eye or a nostril or look tooooo ridiculous!

and this is my little prince after his first at home haircut. admittedly, i am not getting a job as a "dog beautician" but my pup can see what is coming at him! which i think is fair! :)

for you to enjoy......a potpourri......of randomness

2009-03-14T15:48:00.004-04:00

sometimes nothing big is happening but there are a bunch of little things to share. today is one of those times.

this is our first sign of spring!

i realized after looking at jill's blog i never finished posting pictures of our apartment, so since the house was cleaned to sparkling today i thought i'd show off the living room. as large as the room is it would have accommodated our large leather sectional and matching oversize ottoman beautifully. unfortunately there was not a door large enough to get the sofa through. hence the ikea cheap couch.

oh oliver.

reagan was showing off her poses and her outfit. she put it together herself.

this is her reaction to getting caught touching everything on mommy's desk while sitting in mommy's chair. you can tell she is remorseful!

cousin teghan sent a wonderful prize today! it is a pirate princess hat from disneyland and reagan put it on and gave a pretty princess smile!

then she made a pirate face!

“I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything
about.” Oscar Wilde

the greatest show on earth......really!

2009-03-12T16:31:00.003-04:00

i have been hyping the circus for reagan for almost a month now. i was able to get opening night tickets super cheap in a great spot. mike was not interested in joining us. (that is until about 1/2 an hour before the show!) we arrived early for the 'pre-show' and reagan took pictures with the performers.

one of reagan's favorite games is "funny faces". when she saw this clown taking pictures with kids and making funny faces, she was excited to make one of her own!

these are some acrobats. at the preshow they did juggling of tables and giant vases....with thier feet! during the show they did some wicked crazy tumbling on a gliding platform. look, i can't even begin to explain. you just have to go to the circus to see it for yourself.

there was a ton of singing and dancing (reagan's faves) and pretty girls wearing outrageous costumes. everyone was sooo nice!

one of the best things about the circus is...cotton candy! and this time it came with a free hat. apparently if you spend $12 for a bag of cotton candy, they don't want you to feel cheated! although even after 10 wet wipes and a shower, i still feel sticky!

the pictures don't do the show justice at all! we had super fantastic seats. the theme was magic and i honestly was amazed at some of the tricks.

in case you can't tell .... there is an elephant holding a woman by the leg and twirling her around. how many people can say they have done this! its incredible! they also made an elephant disappear! amazing!

and the big "kittys" are always my favorite. there is always one cranky one that you are sure is just going to snap! not on this night though. thank goodness!

so between the disappearing animals, the fun music and costumes and a guy jumping through a hoop of fire i am not sure who had more fun, me or reagan!

has spring sprung?

2009-03-07T15:57:00.011-05:00

after last weekend ending with a snow storm that was labeled "the worst one in years" i would not expected mike to come inside and say "it's shorts weather out there". i checked my weather forecast and sure enough, it was promising sunny skies and 62°! well, it was overcast and 70°, but i am in no way complaining.

we had already decided to go check out the new jersey naval museum. the only expectation we had was it was free. that is what we were looking for in something to do today. they have a bunch of navy things (guns, boats, pictures....not shoes, purses or skirts).

i amused myself by taking pictures of reagan

and by convincing her to go try and talk to the geese. the geese were not amused.

she amused me by sitting down in front of this monument and reading the sign. this is a direct quote from her telling me what the sign says:

"from 1992 until 1994...."

i was laughing too hard to hear what she said "happened". it was too funny! also, i was still laughing at her carefully finding a place for her high school musical lunch box (it has all her 'important' things in it) before plopping herself down on the ground.

hubby walked around and read all the signs and looked at all the things.

here is one of the reasons i adore mr. mike:

we both know reagan will only carry her own lunch box half the time. i tell her to leave it in the car because i don't want to carry it. he always tells her its okay and lugs it around for her when she asks. it takes a man to wander around new jersey or new york with a high school musical lunch box. that man is my man.

then my genius of a hubby said "hey, lets go to the bergen county zoo. its free until april". and off we went! what a lovely surprise to our day! the zoo is always a hit with reagan.

if you ask reagan what her favorite part of the zoo was she would say "climbing the rocks". that girl loves to climb. but she does love her animals too.

our perfect saturday was capped off with a walk down to the park. if today was just a hint of what spring will bring, i can't wait!

snow angel

2009-03-02T13:14:00.006-05:00

i knew going to bed last night that we would probably wake up to a snow day. happily, my errands for the morning were replaced with snuggling in bed and watching cartoons with reagan. not a bad way to spend the morning. after a bowl of ramen (of course) reagan was ready to go adventure in the snow. unlike our last snow day, it was super cold outside and windy and starting to snow again. reagan was oblivious to it all. she just loves pelting us with snow "balls".

she found eating the snow was quite satisfying. thank goodness we had a lot of clean snow! after i finished shoveling (fantastic way to work out) we went on a walk up the block before i was too cold to go on. reagan, pink as her cheeks and nose were, kept saying "c'mon mommy, build a snowman". no snowman for me today.

reagan however makes a perfect snow angel.

marred only by her attempt to get up out of the snow!

life's lemons

2009-02-27T20:41:00.003-05:00

recently an old friend asked me how i was. as usual, i can't just give a simple answer. i hate when i ask someone how they are and they say "fine". it is right up there with "nothing" to the question "what are you thinking". so instead of just replying "fine" (which i am sure was the expected answer) i said nothing and have thought about the question ever since. this morning as i was getting ready for the day, it came to me. i always love an analogy (probably to a fault) and a good old fashioned corny saying (and a good twist on it). life has given me lemons. i can either complain about the load or make lemonade. i decided to make lemonade. then later today i was flipping through my landlord's issue of people magazine that was inadvertantly delivered to our mailbox (he had already closed shop for the day, and being rainy i thought i should bring it in and keep it warm....in my hot little hands) and came across this ad. somehow, it struck me as perfect. too perfect not to share.

what is that buzzing sound?

2009-02-25T11:55:00.004-05:00

it is the lovely bumble bee that reagan made this morning!

thank you ramen inventor

2009-02-18T16:40:00.005-05:00

dear mr. ramen inventor:

thank you for making one of the 3 foods my child will eat right now. although she always claims to be hungry, you are the only food substance that she will eat more than 4 bites of. although i am sure there is no nutritional value in your fabulous noodleness, at least she stops saying "i am hungry" and simultaneously refusing food for the time it takes her to eat a bowl. i don't want to put any pressure on you, but mr. hamburger helper inventor tried to make a run for her attention tonight. don't worry though, her infatuation didn't last long. i am sure by the time she wakes up tomorrow she will be asking for your "noodly soup" again.

mmmm......butter......mmmmm.........

2009-02-03T18:25:00.004-05:00

in a constant quest to find ways to eat melted butter and lemon in ways that are socially acceptable (hubby says that in a cup with a spoon is not) tonight i made chicken picatta. it was lovely (i would have pictures of my perfectly browned chicken if my fat bulldog hadn't have jumped on my desk, ejected the battery from my camera and used it as a chew toy).

what i used:

2 super thick chicken breasts
1/2 c flour + 1-2ish tablespoons
1/4 c grated parmesean cheese + 1ish tablespoons
dash of garlic salt
1/4 capers
juice from 1 good sized lemon
6 tblsps butter
2 tblsps minced garlic
chicken water (i used 1 c water w/ over a teaspoon of chicken boulillon . or you could use 1 c stock or 1 c broth)
olive oil
pasta

how i did it:

split chicken breast in half so you have 4 thin cutlets
heat olive oil in pan. i don't measure, i just pour 4 good circles in the pan
combine 1/2 c flour and 1/4 c grated parmesean cheese and dash your garlic salt
dredge chicken cutlets in flour mix
cook in heated pan. you don't want them to touch, so maybe only do 2 at a time unless you have a super big pan. cook 3 minutes each side. don't touch while they are cooking.
transfer cooked chicken to plate and cover with foil.

start pasta.

using the pan that you cooked the chicken in, add chicken water, lemon, capers, garlic and heat it on medium-ish
while it is starting to heat scrape with a rubber spatula to combine the " drippings" with your sauce
when it starts to boil add butter. i did it 3 tblsps at a time
when butter is melted, add 1-2 ish tblsps on flour and 1ish tblsp of parm cheese. the flour will thicken up your sauce
stir sauce until all the flour is "dissolved" and sauce is thick

how i served it:

pasta on plate, a couple of good sized spoonfuls of sauce on pasta, chicken on the side, drizzle a little sauce on that too.

DELISH!

ps-someone must have told punxsutawney phil i was questioning his credentials. it has been snowing all day. what-ever!

Happy Groundhog Day!!

2009-02-02T12:20:00.007-05:00

when i turned on the news this morning, good 'ol phil was just popping out of his hole to give us the news. 6 more weeks of winter? really phil, are ya sure? because it is 49° out there today. the warmest its been since we got here. can someone check phil's resume please?

25 things you should know about me (because someone else asked)

2009-02-01T15:19:00.000-05:00

so i got "tagged" in facebook and since i am always looking for something to blog about and the 2 are linked, what the heck, i might as well put it on my blog! the gist of the whole thing is someone i know sent their list to me and now i have to make my own list. in addition, i invite y'all do make your own list, send it to me and then invite others to do the same.

1. i have been obsessing over my list since last night
2. i am a Christian
3. i am a republican
4. i truly believe that everything happens for a reason
5. being a mom is teaching me what it means to love unconditionally
6. being married is teaching me what it means love someone no matter what
7. i am fully aware that my obsession with the tv show "lost" is not quite right
8. i "blog" in my head all day. this has replaced talking to myself.
9. i cannot stand loud noises
10. i hate to be "sushed"
11. the songs on my ipod are the soundtrack to the story of my life
12. i am "ocd" about following directions and instructions
13. i love lists!!!
14. i only start diets on mondays
15. i was a good speller until "spell check" came along
16. moving to new jersey was my 2nd time being in the northeast
17. i love being in a tiny town
18. i love being so close to nyc
19. i hate the desert and do not find cacti pretty or intersting
20. i have never lived alone
21. i usually am right if i "go with my gut"
22. i am terrified when meeting new people
23. i prefer going to the laudromat over having a washer and dryer in my home
24. i would rather pay someone to clean my house than do it myself
25. i am constantly trying to be better

sometimes it is okay to blog about nothing....right?

2009-01-31T18:57:00.008-05:00

its not that i don't want to blog. or that reagan isn't outrageously cute 95% of the time. (although it did rain on our snow this last week before we could get out to make snow angels.) january (after the special one's b-day of course) is quickly becoming my least favorite month. its cold which limits the amount of free exploring that we can do. the holiday let down has set in. nothing of much excitement is going on. so i find myself with this little post for you, which of course i (and no doubt my mom will) enjoy.

today was costco day. i go at least once a week now. even if i didn't need something there, we would go for the hot dogs. it is almost the best hot dog i have ever had (higley dog still takes the #1 spot, of course). the price on milk is the cheapest i've found and the expiration date seems unusually longer than the grocery stores date stamp. and the produce. oh the produce. they are selling bathing suits already. next to the down jackets. i find that weird. but today i found the most magical wonderful thing....deep dish chocolate chip cookie cake. it is like a pazookie on steroids. and crack. and delightful wonderment. it weighs 4 pounds. reagan and i each had one bite and decided we couldn't live another day without buying a whole one. he kept asking me if i was sure i only wanted one and i was like, yeah dude, one is going to be enough. the box has a new jersey address and i thought if it was really something special i would just go there and get one. on line it is $44.95. i paid $16.99. they only are at costco 1 day a year. today was our lucky day. oh i will have to mark this day on my calender forever. i am already planning on how i am going to make this one last as long as possible. suddenly it seems so small.

SNOW DAY

2009-01-19T13:42:00.003-05:00

today is a no school day for miss reagan. due to the "inclimate weather" we are having a good ol' fashioned snow day! once again it snowed yesterday. we keep hearing how the weather hasn't been this bad in years! it really isn't that bad. saturday was cold. it was 8° when we left the house. it was 20° in the middle of the day. that is cold! yesterday was snowy. today is 30° and overcast, but it feels warmer than that. actually, it just started snowing again. this morning i made a giant breakfast of french toast, eggs and bacon. (none for me thanks, i started the "body + soul challenge" today....more on that later) we had to get fueled up for the big snow playing to be done.

Building a snowman always seems so easy in theory. Reagan thought we were going to build a whole family of snowpeople. She wanted a mommy, a daddy, a baby, a sister, a grandmother, a grandfather, aunts and uncles and cousins. Not only is there not enough snow for that kind of thing, it isn't sticky snow and for every bit you pack on, half of it falls off! But i promised my baby a snowgal, and a snowgal she will get!

this is reagan with "big red" our snow shovel. reagan thought shoveling was great fun. well, it is! mike isn't "excited" about the shoveling, but you know him. he is probably excited on the inside.

this is reagan and her snow gal. notice niether is wearing a hat. reagan doesn't find them necessary. she didn't even care that her mittens weren't water proof. i think we are lucky she wore mittens! i swear, people must see us walking down the street and say "oh that poor baby. don't her parents love her enough to put a hat on her." little do they know after a 10 minute struggle that ends right before i pin her down and staple it to her head, that she has announced that "she would rather just be cold" and that "mommy looks better without her silly hat".

oh martha, you did it again!

2009-01-16T19:12:00.003-05:00

i was getting ready to send this recipe to my mom-in-law and thought, hey, i should add it to my blog because it is super easy and super delish! mike loves eggplant and i hate the hassle of frying it. fortunatley, my pal martha had a solution for me. what a gal! now, i made her eggplant, but not her sauce. i kind of made up my own sauce using mostly parts from the baked ziti recipe and then i drained it so it would be super chunky. since my sauce had sausage it was a pretty hearty meal without any pasta. or you can buy a good quality chunky sauce! i only used one eggplant. 2 eggplants for our little family would have us eating eggplant for weeks! but reagan loved it and ate it all up. she isn't a fan of red sauce, but with the chunkiness of it and lack of pasta she didn't seem to mind.

SERVES 8

Ingredients

olive oil, for baking sheets
2 large eggs
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, for topping
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds (2 1/2 pounds total)
6 cups store-bought chunky tomato sauce or homemade chunky tomato sauce (see recipe below) 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
coarse salt
pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Brush 2 baking sheets with oil; set aside. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and 2 tablespoons water. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup Parmesan, oregano, and basil; season with salt and pepper.

Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating well; place on baking sheets. Bake until golden brown on bottom, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn slices; continue baking until browned on other side, 20 to 25 minutes more. Remove from oven; raise oven heat to 400°.

Spread 2 cups sauce in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange half the eggplant in dish; cover with 2 cups sauce, then 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat with remaining eggplant, sauce, and mozzarella; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: To make Chunky Tomato Sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook 1 small diced onion and 2 minced garlic cloves, stirring frequently, until translucent, 2 to 4 minutes. Crush 2 cans whole tomatoes (28 ounces each) into pan; add 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

martha martha martha!!!

2009-01-15T13:13:00.004-05:00

SO FUN!! SO FUN!! SO FUN!! mike watched the whole thing and he said he didn't see me once, but who cares! it is so fun to go to a live show taping!!

i got up at the crack of dawn (i didn't sleep a wink.....too excited to sleep!) and there was already a good sized layer of snow out. it was cold and snowy in the city, but the streets and sidewalks were plowed and salted by 8 am.

they make you wait until like exactly 8:30 before they let you in. snowing or not. security check and into the waiting room. the waiting room and bathrooms were kind of a disappointment.

the warm up guy is a riot. he comes out and tells you what is going to happen in each segment. its a one hour show with 7 segments. then they load you into the studio.

the studio itself was a lot bigger than i imagined. and louder! we walked into absolute blaring rap music! the bass was so strong, it vibrates the seats! martha likes it bumpin'!

martha is very generous and gave out lots of goodies! if you watched the show, you saw that we got the cheese (yum), the book (i'll let you know), and the face cream. martha told us like 3 times to not throw out the cream because it is $125.00 jar of cream!

after the show she does a question and answer segment with the audience. i had to ask martha something! since she had mentioned in the show earlier about taking care of her dog's skin and coat differently in the winter and the summer i asked her what she does for them in the winter. she said "neem oil" (yes, she even spelled it for me) and said she adds it to the shampoo and she also conditions them really well this time of year. and, she uses the neem oil for the horses as well. just lovely, martha!

then she did promos for a couple markets. one of them was el paso/las cruces, so if you are in that area and you see martha doing a spot in a brownish shirt with a bowl of green apples...i was there!

i will say this, it was uncomfortably cold. the camera and crew were all wearing coats and scarves. like, down coats. my hands were purple. they warn you its going to be cold, but it was colder than cold. any colder and i think we would have seen our breath.

thanks for letting me inundate you with what is probably boring when reading but SO SO SO FUN when you are there!! and now for some pics of my fabulous time!!

cute intern handing out goodie bags!

outside the "audience entrance" at the studio

the set

the prep kitchen

martha q & a

2009-01-10T18:18:00.004-05:00

our trip to the city today almost didn't happen. a "winter storm warning" was posted yesterday for new jersey and new york, from 11 am sat until 8 am sunday, by the weather channel. at 11:30 this morning, the storm had been down graded in new york. so we hopped on the one o'clock bus and resumed our plans for the day in city.

thursday is my day to go to the martha stewart show. i wanted to do a practice run on the subway so i would have some idea of where i was going. after only one "oops, we need to get off this train and go the other way" we ended up a couple blocks from martha's studio and i felt better about the whole thing.

the weather there was snowy. we found a warm diner to have lunch in and began our quest to find our way to 5th ave to go to build-a-bear. on the way we saw lots of cool places. its hard when you are bundled up tight to stop, take off the gloves, yank out the camera and take pictures. after 2 i stopped. mike was getting too far ahead of me.

we finally found our way to 5th ave and made it to build a bear. we could have gone to one in a mall in new jersey, but that wouldn't have been an adventure! i wouldn't say the streets were empty today, but after our last trip down 5th avenue (when it was packed with christmas time gawkers) it was a more pleasant experience. even with the snow!

reagan gave her new pink monkey a bath after she was stuffed.

once she saw the snow white costume for her monkey (now named annalise) she had to have it.

the big day is finally here! and it kept going, and going and going.....

2009-01-08T14:48:00.008-05:00

today our little tiny baby is THREE! soooo much fun. oh, yeah, reagan is enjoying it too.

i got up at the crack of dawn today make this cake. okay, i got up at 7 to pick it up from the grocery store. whatever!

birthday balloons!

new camera! she wants to take it everywhere so she can send pictures to her friends.

i told her she could have cake after lunch. so she asked for lunch at 10 am. smart cookie!

this is just from the morning session! there was a nap break. the mailman came during naptime.

snow white dress up was so exciting! a little big, but that just means room to grow and more time to wear it.

snow white + dora backpack = "searching for a kingdom"

this is actually last night, she got to open a present early her favorite in this box was the veggie tales cd that is personalized with her name in all the songs.

building cinderella's ballroom and garden

we finished the day at friendly's for dinner and ice cream.

lucky girl!

she can be spoiled, without being rotten!

The extravaganza continues....

2009-01-07T19:00:00.007-05:00

tonight is wednesday. wednesday at our house means we head out to van houten lanes for $1 bowling, $1 shoes and cheap food. we like to play girls against boy. tonight we had the brilliant idea to use the bumpers and it was more fun for everyone! they also give us the world's lightest bowling ball.....that helps!

reagan loves to be at the command center!

reagan is the best teammate! no pins or all the pins she always says "good job" and claps!

daddy is really good.

this game was my personal best ever.

the start of the Reagan B-day week extravaganza

2009-01-06T19:47:00.012-05:00

birthdays are definately the most important day of the year. everyone celebrates all the other holidays. but your birthday is your own. (well, unless you are in a super large family where the odds are there is going to be an overlap somewhere.) last year was the big petting farm party. this year we moved to new jersey. since reagan can't understand that moving to new jersey costs way more than the petting farm, we are (okay, i am...mike is way more adjusted than me) compensating by a week full of fun adventures! at this rate, her sweet sixteen will be on the moon, but who cares! (we'll cross that bridge, well, when NASA says we can! :)
monday night we went to our first nets game. i wasn't sure how excited reagan would be, but the promise of sweet treats made it worth it to her. we went to white castle (for me) prior to the game and had our first "crazy person" incident. that was an adventure unto itself. not quite suitable for a family blog though. anywho! it was a good time. carvel ice cream with sprinkles and all the clapping were reagan's favorite parts.

i personally enjoy the nosebleed seats because you can see everything going on. plus, the stairs work off the white castle and the ice cream!

the twizzlers i snuck in were more exciting than mom taking pictures.

tuesday was movie day. actually, every tuesday can be movie day because we get free movies on tuesdays. move to new jersey people, free movies on tuesdays. (not enough? wait until you see what we do on wednesdays!) so reagan and i took a big adventure to cedar grove to the movie theater and saw bolt. (a lovely story about a dog who loses his person and travels across country to find her.) she loved it. she couldn't wait to get home and see fiona and oliver. then she couldn't wait to get away from them. well, it started out sweet. her favorite parts were the candy i snuck in (see a pattern?) and the closing credits.

she didn't care that the guy was sweeping the theatre!

she had to dance!

stay tuned...its only tuesday!

LOST...Tiny Cute Little Bulldog

2008-12-30T22:02:00.002-05:00

I bought a tiny cute sweet little bulldog last summer. I don't know where she went. One morning I woke up and had this big fat bossy bulldog instead. I think my tiny bulldog was kidnapped and replaced with this fat one. Any help would be appreciated.

a brand new day

2008-12-28T00:49:00.008-05:00

i was making a couple of changes on my blog and thought i'd jot a couple notes. i woke up this morning and felt that my funk has passed. thanks ladies for reminding me that i am doing whats best. sometimes its just nice to hear it come from some one else other than me!

today, i once again underestimated the population of new jersey. reagan and i headed out to the mall at 1 o'clock. not any particular reason, just to see something new. after circling the parking lot for an hour trying to find a space, reagan suggested we go to target. and so we did.

tomorrow we are going to go back to the church we tried a couple of weeks ago. if you have not heard about our experience the last time, well, it is very hard to explain this way. so i will put it the best way i know how. you know at the end of napoleon dynamite. where he is dancing. so trade napoleon for the pastor (a really nice lady in her 30s) and her daughter (probably 11). add matching outfits. now, play some christian rock music, throw in some interpretive dance. you have what went on there. mike wants to go back every week just in case it happens again. i do not want to go back for the same reason. finding a church for us is going to be a little harder than i expected.

after church we might go to the flapjacks steak and pancake house. its pretty tasty. then i need to go to michaels for more yarn. i found a little wrap thing and a scarf at anthropoligie and i want to try . hopefully something will be ready in time to wear to martha!

and i have some other crafty ideas that i will be sharing more about if it turns out ok!! reagan asks to do arts and crafts everyday. she has also become quite the hi ho cherry-o player.

xoxo

sue

The problem with living somewhere super cool...

2008-12-26T22:00:00.005-05:00

we don't have anyone to share it with right now except ourselves. if reagan has a good time at the please touch museum in philly, we know she would have a better time if her cousins were with her. but, if her cousins were with her, we wouldn't be in philly at the cool museum.

i would be more excited about going to the martha stewart show if i wasn't going alone. but if i was with the people i want to go with, i wouldn't be next door to new york to go to see martha stewart.

we would have had a more exciting christmas with our family. but if we were with our family, we wouldn't be where we want to be. geographically, that is.

i am a closet "old rock" fan. "you can't always get what you want"and "i wish you were here". these are the songs that are speaking to me right now. people may not even know this about me, but i have a soundtrack for my life that is constantly updated in my head.

no, sometimes it doesn't seem like we are doing the right thing. but even though it doesn't seem right, it feels right. i can't explain it, i can't put it in this blog. i just know that right now, we are where we need to be.

admittedly, i tell mike i can never move back (to arizona). and a lot of that is just silly pride. i don't need anyone to tell me if i am right or wrong for making the decision to move 2300 miles away from everything we know. and right now, it changes about every 5 minutes. i am always ready to fully to admit when i am wrong. but i am always willing to make sure that i am not.

i'll make everyone a deal. when life is normal again (ie: mike working, reagan at school, life as we planned when we made the decision to move) then i can make a fully informed decision. until then, please pray that we are doing our best on the path. i don't expect anyone to understand. i don't even ask that of mike and reagan. i just know that prayer got us here. i truly believe that my family wouldn't be anywhere we are not supposed to be.

not to make anyone sad, but tonight we got a christmas card. reagan said "i miss my friends" and it was really hard. but i told her that she can make new friends and still have her old friends. i know that she doesn't understand what is going on. maybe i say these things for myself. i know that the relationships that were important to me back in arizona, are even more important to me now.

so in closing: i am homesick. feel free to send your "i told you so" notes. but i am excited for the new year. maybe we jumped the gun, but i don't think we missed the boat. i know, that is a lot of analogies for one little blog. i guess even though i have been in a funk the past week, i know it is not location, it is perception.

how can you love being where you are if your loved ones are not all there. "talk amongst yourselves". i am "too ferklemped" to go on. a dozen imaginary cookies to who can tell me where that quote comes from.

miss you. love you. xoxo.

Candland Christmas

2008-12-25T09:41:00.011-05:00

What better time to post pictures of Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning that before noon on Christmas! Mike is snuggled in bed with Oliver watching little people. Reagan is playing with all her new toys (more on that in a sec) with Fiona's assistance. She has Sleeping Beauty on (Reagan rarely just sits and watches TV. She likes to have it on while she does other things. Hmmm, where did she learn that?) Sit back, get comfy, maybe take a trip to the restroom before you go any further...theres a lot to share!

This year I decided that Christmas Eve would be a good time to make cookies for Santa.

Sugar cookie + pink frosting + sprinkles = Barbie Cookies. Yes, you may copy this recipe.

The no bake cookies are perfect for her because they are easy to stir. She helped me measure out ingredients and count scoops. She also added the sprinkles.

Santa ended up with a Barbie cookie, a chocolate cookie and a glass of eggnog. Green plate, red cup of course! I hope Santa appreciates these details! We did not however have carrots for the reindeer. I completely forgot when we were at the store and I think Mike would have drawn a line at leaving a bag of frozen veggies under the tree.

As you may know, Reagan asked Santa for a "My Little Pony Scooter Driver". She was very excited to see that he listened!! And she was excited that she was a good girl this year!!

Oliver and Fiona got Reagan a My Little Pony. Oliver was relieved that she liked it.

Now we can have family game nights! Of course Michael is super excited and can't wait to get his Candyland on! No, not really. He's more of a Chutes and Ladders.

Reagan sets the Sleeping Beauty walking horse on the floor, taps it with the wand to make it start walking and says to it "okay horsey, follow me". It was the funniest! No, the funniest, was when she turned around to look at the horse and he was walking the other way and she got this irritated look because he wasn't right behind her!

Reagan has always had great facial expressions, but its her comments that crack me up! She opened this gift and said "Oh, they are beautiful My Little Pony dress ups. I will send them a thank you letter!"

I don't know if you can tell by the pictures, but the amount of wrapping paper that touched the floor was exactly one little scrap. Mike had the trash bag out before the first rip of paper. So now everything is out of their boxes and being played with. She is so excited to have new toys. Mike and I this year decided not to get each other anything but we did get crab legs at Costco for our Christmas dinner. YUM! And no, for those of you wondering, we did not get a White Christmas. It is sunny and the birds are chirping. Which is actually better because the last little bit of ice left over needs to melt. We learned the hard way that it pays to get out there and start shoveling!!

Please Touch Museum, a day out for Reagan

2008-12-20T22:25:00.003-05:00

A lot of the sightseeing we have done has been fun for Reagan, but not for Reagan. I decided that we needed to go somewhere just for her to run and jump and play. Today we left the snow of New Jersey and traveled to the cold of Philadelphia to the "Please Touch Museum". It is a wonderful children's museum that is totally interactive and she had a great time. There are so many exhibits there. This is just a few things that we did......

The river display was a winding "river" of toys and interactive ways to maniupulate water. It was a little old for her in most parts. She really just wanted to play with the rubber duckies!

Our girl LOVES a carousel. Today she picked the kitty to ride. They had pigs and goats and horses. She is going through a kitty phase. Probably because Daddy said she could never have one!

They had a show going on in the theatre. It was 4 "dads" that have a kids band. I thought it was really fun, but Reagan literally stood with her hands on her hips the whole time just staring at the band. No dancing today!

Reagan built a plane out of foam and attached it to the pulley and used the crank to take it "high in the sky". Her planes would then "fly" down. She got a kick out of winding the pulley more than anything!

There was a whole Alice in Wonderland area that had a maze and a tea party area. In the maze there were fun house mirrors to make you look big and small.

The garage exhibit had her changing tires, operating a bulldozer to move balls around and of course, her favorite driving cars. She especially liked this car because the dash had a picture of a GPS like ours and she always sees us using it.

Our little Lady Liberty!

Probably her favorite exhibit was the grocery store. They had a store with little carts that she loaded up with all the groceries it could handle and little areas like a bakery and the meat counter, etc. My favorite part was this cash register in a glass display because I had one just like it!

The weather outside is frightful and delightful!

2008-12-19T16:41:00.003-05:00

I guess the "snow" the other day was just a test. Today was the real deal. It started snowing sometime after I took the pups out this morning at 8 am and it hasn't let up. Well, there was a brief change to a "wintry mix" of not quite snow and not quite rain. But we are now back to snow! Big beautiful white flakes of snow. Silly me, I thought Reagan and I would jump in my big blue beast of a car and just run our errands as usual. Of course, I picked the steepest street to start out on and when I got to the end of the street, I kept on going! Fortunatley, there was no one around!! I turned around and went back home. Thankfully Mike was willing to drive us to our errands. It took us ONE HOUR to drive 7 MILES! It was crazy! Reagan got to wear her snow boots and trudge through the winter wonderland. Still refused to wear gloves, hat and scarf! Oliver ran around in it for awhile and didn't seem to mind. Fiona is a little less enthusiastic. She goes out, does her business and bolts back to the warm inside.

is this the sidewalk or the street? too snowy to tell!

the super tall backyard tree

backyard entrance to scary basement and windows to our bedroom

Oliver and Fiona could not be left out!

2008-12-17T20:20:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Best Little Elves

2008-12-17T19:47:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2008-12-17T17:30:00.000-05:00

MARTHA

2008-12-17T13:02:00.003-05:00

How cool am I? Very! I have been invited to a taping of the MARTHA STEWART SHOW! (Insert squeal of excitement...WHOO HOO!)

I was on her website a couple of weeks ago and there was a little button that said "tickets" and I clicked on it, requested a ticket and poof! I got this email:

Dear MARTHA fan,
You’re invited! Recently you requested tickets to see THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW, and your show date has been selected. Please read your ticket confirmation and show-day guidelines below.

(WHOO HOO)

I am super excited. Mr. Mike has said he cannot go because he cannot "take gifts" and he would have "too many questions". I don't believe this to be true. Ms. Reagan cannot go because no minors under 10 are allowed. (Now I am sure if Martha just spent some time with Reags she would make an exception.) So I am going to journey to the City and go see Martha.

(yes, another WHOO HOO)

There are rules! No tennis shoes, no sleeveless tops, no black or white tops. Bright colors preferred. I may have to buy something new. I can't just pull whatever out of my closet to go to the Martha Stewart Show! (WHOO HOO)

I am going January 15 to the 10 am taping, but I am not sure when that will air. I am pretty sure it is not a live show. But set your TiVo or VCR just in case.

WHOO HOO- I am a little excited!

The first snow!!

2008-12-16T20:39:00.004-05:00

I had to go outside and take pictures of the first snow! It really isn't that cold, but it is definately going to stick (at least for now). If it is still around tomorrow, I will take some "daytime snow" pictures.

I was trying to take a picture of the church across the street, but the camera focused on the snow! :)

Our pretty lamp post with wreath and "candles"....in the snow!

Our little alley to our front door...in the snow. I hope this doesn't turn into an icy mess! Yuck!

While I was at it, I figured a picture of our "mud room" would be nice.

Yes, it really is our Christmas Tree

2008-12-16T20:06:00.003-05:00

Mike has 4 requirements for a Christmas Tree:

#1 It must be real

#2 It must have white lights

#3 It must be from Home Depot

#4 It must cost no more/less than $19.99

This year he accomplished 3 out of 4 of these. I am just glad that it is done! I like a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree myself. This one is a little too busy to qualify. But I did hang my bird ornaments on it. Reagan really seems not to care too much. The big deal for her was "getting the Christmas Tree". Now that we have it, excitement is over.

This is one of my precious bird ornaments. Sweet little guys. I made flowers too, but there just wasn't room. I am thinking maybe I will put one on the top. We'll see.

The new topic of conversation: Cookies for Santa. It goes goes something like this:

Reagan : I want cookies from Santa.

Me: No, we leave Santa cookies for when he brings your present Christmas Eve.

Reagan : I can't wait to see him.

Me: He will come when you are asleep.

Reagan : I won't go to sleep.

Me: He won't come if you are awake. He knows when you are sleeping and when you are awake.

Reagan : I want Barbie cookies.

Me: Barbie cookies for Santa?
Reagan: No, for me.

Me: What about Santa?

Reagan: Oh, he can have one of my cookies.

Team Candland in the City

2008-12-15T14:43:00.004-05:00

We decided it was time to venture into the city using ....dum dum dum....public transportation. Fortunatley the NJ Transit website pretty much takes all the guess work out of it for you. In preperation for our journey I spent a few days before the trip warning Reagan not of strangers or rats but of how many layers of clothing she was going to have to wear. She was very excited to take the bus. The bus stop is on the corner of our street and takes about 20 steps to get there.

After the bus we hopped on the subway and took the train to our stop at 5th Ave / 42nd Street. Just a short hike 8 blocks got us to Rockefeller Center. It was COOOLD and there were soooo many people. The tree is nice, and I am sure the bazillion people around us agreed!

The stores like Macy's, Tiffany's, FAO Schwartz and Disney had lines around the buildings to get in. We were not up for that. We had a super yummy lunch at Burger Heaven. After lunch it was even colder than before so we decided to make our way back to New Jersey. Reagan loved the adventure and we will do it a lot more...when it is a little warmer.

my scarves are sooo popular right now

2008-12-09T19:11:00.004-05:00

This is the scarf I made for Reagan. See, I told you. The bubble gum pink is even more nauseating in person. She also requested one for baby Analise (that is the skinny one). Of course, if baby Analise gets one, Mr. Bananas has to have one too. I explained that Mr. Bananas wants a pink one because it matches Reagans and no, we don't need to go to Michaels "right now" to get different "string".

In other news, Reagan got Horton the Elephant from Aunt Marilee when we visited her in PA and was super happy to see that we rented Horton Hears A Who for her to watch with Horton. Horton sits with Mr. Banana's mom at the end of her crib with her at night. It was an exciting day.

Reagan LOVES a Christmas Party

2008-12-06T14:29:00.002-05:00

Today was the highly anticipated "Little Stars Academy Christmas Party"! Finally! We were one of the first ones there and Reagan ran into the room and ran and jumped into Santa's lap. She told him what she wanted (My Little Pony Scooteroo) and told him all sorts of stories. Fortunately Santa and Mrs. Claus are very patient people.

The next best part of the party was the singing and dancing Elf. She played songs on her guitar and danced with the kids. Reagan said the dancing was her favorite part. Reagan is quite a spectacular dancer.

2008-12-06T11:23:00.005-05:00

I guess have been holding out long enough. The demand is still high for pictures of our New Jersey bunglow, and I hate to disappoint my public. Reagan begged all morning to help to clean the bathroom and it was so cute, I had to get a picture (or two).

The bathroom is probably at the top of the "5 Things I hate About This Apartment List". Its not the bathroom as a whole, it is the fact that when they grouted the tile, they didn't use bathroom grout and it is moldy in parts. Mike is in the process over going over the places that make me want to puke with new caulk. The black organizer that hangs on the back of my door falls into my "Things I Love About Our Apartment" list. It is so handy and you can't see it, but the bottom is a hamper!

Fiona is likes to supervise to make sure everything is done to her satisfaction!

The picture on the left is Reagan's room taken from the doorway in our room. The rooms are spacious, but we have sacrificed hallways. The paint is also on the "5 Things I hate About This Apartment List". A color blind person painted this apartment. It is not worth changing, but it is shocking if you are not used to it. She has a ton of room to play in her room. She never does of course!

This is our room. You cannot tell by the picture, but I have made the most cozy bed! It has a thick fluffy matress pad and between the top sheet and the comforter I put a down blanket. It is just fabulous to crawl into at night. It is soooo snuggly! Another thing I love! Oh, and I should have opened the bedroom blinds, but it looks out in the backyard at this ridiculously tall tree.

The rest will come. That is half the rooms really! I love it because everything has a place and we have everything we need. We got rid of soooo much crap we didn't use/need/want but kept because we had space for it.

We are on our way to "Little Stars Academy Holiday Spectaular" so we will have more pictures to post later!! XOXO

Reagan Reindeers and a scarf FULL of love

2008-12-04T17:16:00.006-05:00

This Christmas season I am feeling crafty. I don't know what it is, but we literally go to Michael's every other day. Today's arts and craft project was one that Reagan was a big helper in. We made Candy Cane Reindeers for her friends at school. Reagan was in charge of handing off the antlers, eyes and noses. I glued everything on. It was soo much fun.

And the scarf, no, don't adjust your screens folks, the picture is just fine. It is the scarf that is a little, well, lumpy. I got it in my head that I can make scarves. We need scarves, I am bored in the evenings, money is tight, yarn is cheap. It was the perfect plan. Both my Marnie (mom's mom) and Grandma DeeDee (dad's mom) were wonders with yarn. When I was a kid I could crochet a single chain for hours. Apparently, I should have stuck with the single chain and just had Mike wrap that around his neck! I told him the lumps are all the extra love I put in it. I also told him to just wrap it around his neck and hide it under his jacket and no one will notice. I started one for Reagan in a nauseating bubble gum pink that she picked out. It actually is turning out way better than the first one. There really wasn't another direction for this project to go!

'Tis the Season

2008-12-02T13:36:00.005-05:00

Although I was impressed by the amount of decorations that Wood Ridge and our neighboring towns had to offer for Thanksgiving (I have never seen so many giant blow up turkeys), I am overwhelmed by the Christmas decor. We stayed indoors for most of Black Friday but emerged Saturday to find that Christmas decorations had sprung out of 75% of the lawns and store fronts. All the little towns have little banners and decorations on the lamp posts (yes, lamp posts). So super cute. There was some snow on Sunday morning but not enough to get me out of bed at 6 am to take a picture. It would take blanket of snow covering all things to get me out of bed to take pictures at 6 in the morning.

But our Santa sightings have started. We were ambushed by a photographer at Walmart doing free pics with St. Nick and I didn't want to be rude! Plus, its good practice for Saturday's "Holiday Celebration" at Reagan's school.

2008-11-27T12:24:00.002-05:00

i am THANKFUL for.............

#1 mr. mike and miss reagan--- my best fun friends

#2 our families---ALL of them

#3 the roof over our head and the food on our table ---everyday

#4 our friends---they are few but they are loved

#5 modern technology---it has helped us feel closer to our loved ones

Adventures!

2008-11-24T18:46:00.016-05:00

What a week last week turned out to be . . .well, for Mike and Reagan. I was chained to my desk working, but they got out and saw some cool places and things. Well, they tried at least! Apparently it was too cold for anyone else, but my loves braved the cold and had some adventures!

Liberty Park

Bronx Zoo

By Friday I was ready to get away from my desk and so we drove to the Orange County Choppers Showroom and Shop to see what was going on up there. It was a big show room and they had a lot of the bikes that they built on the show. They have a large window where we could look into the shop and see them working (they couldn't see us). It was a fun day!

Orange County Choppers

As if all that excitement wasn't enough, Saturday we got up and drove to Philadelphia to see Aunt Marilee and Uncle David! It was COLD! We were not ready for that! With a little help we were bundled up and ready to brave the streets. We had a yummy lunch at a vegeterian chinese restaurant and made our way to the Liberty Bell. Large bell, giant crack, lots of people. But, something you do to say you did it I guess. We have a list of things to do when we go back. We will have more hats and coats next time!

Liberty Bell

My New Laundry Room

2008-11-17T19:01:00.006-05:00

My new laundry has rows of giant washers as far as the eye can see and a mirroring wall of dryers that hold four times as much as the washers. My new laundry room is spotless and the floors are unbelievably clean. My new laundry room smells like warm dryer lint. Now if only I could figure out what all those darn people are doing in my new laundry room!

In anticipation of needing tons of quarters I have been saving and scrounging quarters for weeks. I even found the most perfect laundry money jar in the world. A young boy in 1991 named Mike Candland fashioned it out of clay and scratched his name in the bottom of it. And so Sunday I filled my little coin purse, specifically set out for said quarters, and marched right up to the first washer only to find they do not take quarters anymore! Its a reloadable card. Surely the card machine takes all the quarters people used to put in the machines! NO! NO! NO! CASH! Who takes cash to the laundry mat? Apparently anyone who has been to one in the past 10 years, which does not include me.

Don't let this adorable picture fool you. This lasted 2 and half minutes and the rest was a lot of screaming and running. I have blocked most of it out. But see that guy in the back folding? He does the most amazing trick with the socks! They were perfectly folded and flat and it involved banging on the table, but they looked fantastic! And the girlfriend, she can fold a fitted sheet like I have never seen anyone do before. I literally stared in awe the whole time they were folding thier laundry. It was lovely. I will say this, after an hour and a half on Sunday of laundry time, was washed, dryed and put away! I have never been caught up on laundry before. I told Mike I love the washeteria. He said, "we'll see". Ah, my little optimist.

Sue in the City

2008-11-13T22:31:00.009-05:00

I am sure this is not the first "Jersey Blog" that everyone wants to see. We got here great. I promise once the boxes are out (they are empty with nowhere to go) that I will send pictures and way too much detailed information about everything. But it is overwhelming. So! I am going to be selfish and talk only about my first trip to the City. It was spectacularly wonderful and I will never forget it. We didn't even get there until after 9 and if you know me, 10 o'clock is bedtime no matter where I am! But we parked right down the street from Times Square and it was jaw dropping amazing. It was as bright as day! We took the train to get the BEST pizza in the Village. The first subway ride was uneventful. Plenty of places to sit, no interesting characters. The ride back to Time Square was hysterical! Poor Mike was squished by sooo many people. All you could see was his little head sticking out of a sea of people. He is a giant here! We just kept laughing because they kept piling on, even though we were sure there was no more space! I don't think he will be up for a trip to the city again anytime soon! I don't think there is a time when it is "less crowded" which is when he prefers public places. I did not attempt a street hot dog. I was really disappointed to learn that "dirty water dog" is because they are boiled in water. I don't know what I thought it meant, but it wasn't that! Why aren't they on a spit? I don't know about the whole hot dog in the city dream now. It just isn't working for me anymore. But I did find a magical place that I am waiting to go to until Becca gets here. It is called "The Hummus Place". Need I say more?

I have also enjoyed my first White Castle hamburger (Reagan likes them because they are tiny tiny and she likes things tiny tiny.) I have developed an obsessive hunger for them and am forcing Mike to take me tomorrow night! Everything seems magically different. I know the magicalness (new word, add it to your spell check, don't fight it) will wear off. But I can honestly say that I was scared crapless when I got off the plane and spent most of Friday wondering what the heck I had just done. But by the walk to the Bagel Shop down the street Saturday I felt at home. I can't explain it, I just feel like I am in the right place. I promise next time to blog about something other than myself (and food)!

Strawberry Hill----Forever!

2008-10-18T13:02:00.004-04:00

Strawberry Hill was the most fantastic way to spend time with our rather large family prior to our move to Wood-Ridge. Bev spends at least 6 months planning these vacations and they are so much fun! This year we went up to the mountains of Strawberry Hill. We were reunited with our favorite roomates Aunt Becca and Uncle Jared. The kids (all 20 plus 2 tiny tiny babies) had a blast just being together.

Out of Africa was crazy! The kids walked with tigers. Bev, Mike and Camden made out with a camel. We were snubbed by a bored giraffe. It was a wild time. Reagan couldn't spend enough time with her cousins and a few aunts and uncles offered to keep her instead of her going with Mike and I to New Jersey. I think if it were up to her, she would stay here and leave us with no problem!

2,678,400 seconds until we move to New Jersey

2008-10-02T22:53:00.008-04:00

We have a truck! We have airplane tickets! We might even have a place to live! It looks like we are on our way!

Finding to place to live in a place you have never been isn't as easy as it sounds. Fortunatley, Jemine puts up with my 10 emails a day proclaiming that "I have found my dream home!" didn't annoy her too much. I think it may have added a chuckle to her day, at least. My new hobby for the week was to scour Craigslist, Aparments.com, Rent.com and any other site offering rental housing in North Jersey. This replaced my old hobby of scouring Monster.com, TelecomCareers.com and any other website that offers jobs. What am I going to do with myself now that we have a job and a place to live?? I am sure I can fill the time. Packing, purging and pricing have taken a backseat this week but after playgroup tomorrow I am back on it!

We pick up the truck Nov 2nd. Mike and Jared will head out on thier "Amazing Race/Survivor/Bromance" adventure across the country.

Reagan and I will have an extended slumber party with Aunt Becca until we get on the plane Nov. 6. Just a short 4 1/2 plane hour ride and we will be in FABULOUS (power of positive thinking, people) New Jersey for a slumber party with Our Jersey Girls (GoGo, Tini and Mimi-to Reagan. Gloria, Justine and Jemine-to the rest of the world). Mike and Jared will pull into town and we can start our lives in our new space.

We found an apartment in the town of Wood Ridge. We are leaving our 1800 sq feet for, well, much less. But we are a close family and Reagan and I are tiny. We get to take both dogs, which was a major stressor for a while. Apparently, apartments in Jersey aren't as puppy friendly as we would have liked. But we have our own private apartment with no nieghbors and a yard, so what more could we ask for?!

It is crazy to think that this time next month I won't even be sitting at this table! But crazy in a good way. Team Candland is ready to start this adventure. Heck, just getting to November 1 is going to be an adventure unto itself. Between family trip, Candland Title, Reagan's activities, my mom coming to visit and Halloween (plus the activities that Halloween comes with) we have a jam packed month without throwing a move across the country into the mix. But we can hande it. We are ready.

As soon as I get confirmation that we actually have the apartment I will post pictures. I will say this, I will be spending sometime with HGTV while I pack up the house to get "cheap and easy decorating tips". Forget "Design on a Dime"...its more like "Design with a nickle and a shoestring" Not a shoestring budget, literally a shoe string!

Watch out Jersey--Team Candland is on its way!!

2008-09-27T12:46:00.005-04:00

It is official. We are moving to New Jersey! Mike has a job with a company in Mahwah where he showcase his many talents in site acquisition and zoning. It is the job he wants for the money he wants and its "back east"! What more could we ask for?

Things are really rolling now so all the planning I thought I had been doing the past month now seems like I was just spinning my wheels. Now there are actual things to do! Not just things to plan to do! Packing and purging and cleaning. Rent this house, rent a place in New Jersey. Fortunatly, my best friend is already in New Jersey and she is helping us look for a place to live. My first trip to New Jersey will be to move out there. How crazy is that. What a big adventure!

Candland Family Vacation is before we go and I am really glad for that. The hardest part is that Reagan has become so close with her little cousins. They are so cute and they love each other so much. All Reagan talks about is her cousins and I hate to move her away from that. But we are going to find a preschool for her in New Jersey. She is such a social butterfly that she will have new friends before we do! And although nothing will take the place of her cousins, they will always be her cousins and I will make sure that they are always close at heart.

I hope that you join in our excitement. As excited as we are, it is also a scary thing. I know our families are sad to see us go. And believe me, we will miss everyone so much. But we would rather spend our last month here making good memories and enjoying everyone. Not defending our decision for what is best for our lives.

PS: Did you know that the tri-state area has 7 Ikeas and one of them you have to get to by boat! I know that if I am shopping for swedish made furniture at a cheap price, I want to get there by boat!

I have 115 days - 2 hours - 57 minutes - and 29 seconds until my child is out of the terrible twos phase...

2008-09-14T22:50:00.007-04:00

.....According to the terrible two's countdown calculator. There is no such thing as "Terrible Twos for Dummies". I looked.

Has anyone seen my cute little angel girl? Because the monster that I have right now is not the darling princess that I gave birth to. And, I am pretty sure that "no child of mine would ever act that way in public." So therefore, the only logical conclusion is that in the middle of the night, while she was sleeping in her crib (another strange occurance) that aliens came and switched her out. That's all. All I have to do is travel to outer space, find the planet where she is and get her back. Becuase the other option of keeping this monster child and never going out in public again just really isn't going to work. Thank goodness there are Wal-Marts every 5 feet because we can cross the one we were at today off of our list of "places we can go".

In other news, Mike was contacted for a job here. In Arizona. I thought I was really rocking "The Secret". I was quite certain all the "power of positive thinking" I was sending out into the universe was working. That, and everyone was working "The Secret" AGAINST me. For all the positive "move to New York" energy that I put out there, I had more people working it the other way, for us to stay here. I didn't make a vision board though. That could be part of the problem. I wonder if my power of positive thinking WITH a vision board would trump multiple people putting out the thoughts that we should stay. I don't believe you can use the power of prayer against somebody. Becuase why would your prayers be deemed more important than mine. But the secret. Now that is a battle. Whose power of positive thinking out ranks someone elses? And how do you measure the strength of positive thoughts. If one person throws 100% into it and 5 people throw 10% into it, how is that going to come out? Of course, I am just kidding. Although I believe in the power of positive thinking. If you have a positive mind, you are a positive person. Negative thoughts breed negativity. I will use it in a sentence "I am positive that we are moving to the East Coast."

I just saw a commercial the new prequel movie 24: Redemption. Coming out in November. The story line will fall between Season 6 and 7. This makes me very happy. I heart Kiefer and I did not particularly enjoy Season 6. In fact, I don't think I made it throught the season and I feel like Kiefer owes us a little something extra. Especially me, his biggest fan and secret girlfriend. Don't listen to my friend Donna if she tells you that she is his secret girlfriend. Because she is jea-lous!

The Most Magical Family on Earth

2008-09-11T00:15:00.008-04:00

My Peter Pan has taken my Tinkerbell to the Happiest Place on Earth!

Mike and Reagan have gone on a "Daddy / Daughter Trip" to Disneyland. In the past year, we have been a few times. The first time was actually this time last year. Then for Thanksgiving (the start of a new Team Candland tradition). In the spring with Gramma and Poppa. Mommy and Reagan went on a special "Mommy / Reagan Trip". Each time we keep the destination a surprise. Honestly, we are perfectly aware that she is not going to remember this year of "surprise" Disneyland trips. We take her on adventures knowing that she is not going to remember down the road that we went to Disneyland constantly this year. We also aren't going to put her in a box until she has a fully functional memory bank. So yesterday Mike began prepping her for the "surprise" vacation. We have learned to wait until the last minute to spring these things on her because, bless her 2 year old little heart, she has no concept of time. (This does not stop her from turning her arm to look at her watchless wrist and ask what time it is, or tell me what time it is.) Reagan's response to the announcement? "I want to go on Tigger-Pooh". And for the rest of the evening and into the ride to school this morning, she alternates between saying which rides she wants to go on and asking if I remember rides. Mind you, we have not said "Reagan, you are going to Disneyland." She has just assumed that is what is going on, because that is where all surprise vacations end up. And when I remind her no one has told her where she is going she says "Mom, its not a surprise." and continues her list of rides and characters. And so all packed up with extra panties, extra shorts, snacks, movies and a constant mantra from me (that I am sure I mutter in my sleep) "Take her potty all the time. She will say she doesn't have to go, but she does." Of course, my carefully researched and printed copy of "Happiest Potties on Earth" (why didn't I think of this?) did not make the trip. Well, originally. I faxed it to the hotel and asked them to give it to them upon arrival. Look, I a pretty good about letting Mike do his thing with her. He dresses her when I don't and I don't set it out or change her. He has never had to finagle a ponytail or barrette. I even let him take her to my mothers by himself and he did all the packing. But until this girl has control of her bladder, I am going to assume she needs to pee all the time, as should everyone else.

I talked to them on the way to the park where Reagan was more excited about the Barbie movie she watched in the car on the way over than the fact that she was waltzing into the Magic Kingdom. (Princess and the Pauper. Ironically, when we went on our adventure, we didn't take the movie, just the soundtrack and I listened to it the whole drive there and the whole drive home. I used "shuffle" to mix it up a bit. The things we do for the happiness of our child in the car.)

Mike called a little while ago to say that they went on Pinnochio, Pirates, Rockets, Tea Cups and the MATTERHORN! My little girl on the Matterhorn! She is just a baby you say, well maybe, but she is a baby that has been on the Matterhorn. And my darling Mr. C. How lucky am I to have a husband that whisks his daughter away to Disneyland all by himself with a 85% potty trained 2 year old. And even though I am home by myself with an over protective dog (Oliver really steps it into high gear when Mike is gone) and a dog that is in the middle of potty training (Seriously, between the kid and the puppy I feel like I think about pee A LOT more than the average person. To people even think about pee on a regular basis? I am obsessed at this point. Not with the actual pee, with making sure that it doesn't end up on my carpet, beds, etc. etc. etc. This is normal right?) and there is a storm going on and I am afraid of the dark, I am super happy that I have such a neat husband and kid.

2008-09-05T16:39:00.002-04:00

Let me share a little something with you that you probably already know all about (I obviously was late to the boat on the blogging thing). Its a little thing called "Craigslist" and it is just fabulous. Last night I decided to see if I could sell some bigger items that I knew I wouldn't get what I wanted for in a garage sale (ie: computers, furniture, baby stuff) and by then end of the weekend I should have about $500 in our moving fund and some stuff that we don't want to move out of here. Amazing! I don't know what I am going to do when I run out of stuff to sell. (Although, I really don't think that is possible, given that there is a whole section devoted to things that people want and are looking for!)

Mike is now also in the running for a position in Portland, Oregon. I don't think we could get much farther from New York with that one if we tried. But it is with a GREAT company and it would be an awesome opritunity (I just CANNOT spell that word). I told Mike to do whatever he thinks is best and we will do what we have to do. Meanwhile, I am selling in the middle of selling his XBox, PS2 and the games, so really, he could tell me we are moving to the moon and I probably would say okay, let me sell our bathing suits (becuase we wouldn't need them on the moon). Poor Reagan is not going to know what to do when all the toys that she has been neglecting start filing out the door, but I am pretty sure she will get over it!

Okay, I just felt chatty, and I promised updates! So there you have it world!

Reagan's First Day of (Play) School!

2008-09-03T21:31:00.008-04:00

This morning our little Reagan had her first day of school. Well, play school. It is from 9-11, Monday & Wednesday. She LOVES it. She picked out a new dress and shoes for the special occasion and I found her a backpack just her size. She took her "Blankie B" for show and tell (Mr. Bananas is going on Monday).

we truly hate to leave but we really want to go

2008-09-02T19:54:00.006-04:00

well, you start a little family project like moving to new york and people think you have lost your marbles. to be honest, it is easier to "blog" about it than to talk about it for several reasons. one, if you really know me, you know that i am not in a "talking mood" lately. my nerves are shot, my full plate is cracking under the load and if only "being stretched thin" really meant "being stretched thin". i'd be as tall as mr. mike! all that said, i must admit that this time for our little family has been necessary. we have learned our lessons about spending and saving. we are learning how to get along when we don't want to. we are really learning how to be a team. mike and i really thought and planned and weighed our options. as much as we love our family here and our family close by. as much as we love our house and reagan's activities. we do not love living here. it is a wonderful place to live, don't get me wrong. it just isn't for us. right now is a good time for us to make a big change. reagan is little enough we can pick her up and move her without scarring her too much. mike is looking forward to getting with a company that he can grow with. i am fortunate enough to have a company that i can take with me wherever i go. we really truly have thought this through. and we truly hate to leave but we really want to go. so as we sit and wait to see what is going to happen next please understand, we know as much as you do right now. all i can do right now is sit, wait and pray. and stare at mike. he just loves that. i just sit and stare. once in a while i ask him about his feelings. he is just loving this time at home too. but i will say this, even with all the sitting and staring, we are continuing with life as usual here. reagan starts playschool tomorrow (see sphuler sprouts in "blogs i know") and we have playgroup on friday's. candland title research is doing great and keeping busy. nothing is changing until we know for sure we are going.

Fab Five (minus one) Playgroup

2008-08-29T23:26:00.003-04:00

Playgroup was so fun today! We went to the park and played in the sand. We read the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". Everyone was so good at counting all the things that the caterpillar was eating. We made our own pretty butterfly wings with stickers. For snack we had "dirt and worms" on chocolate pudding with strawberries on the side. Before they left everyone put on their wings to become beautiful butterflies. It was so much fun! Reagan is already asking about next week!

STATUS

2008-08-28T03:24:00.001-04:00

After many nights of discussion and plotting and planning and negotiating, Mike and I have decided that we are going to move "back east". Now, we have not really lived in the east, so we aren't exactly "going back". But that is what people say. Or that is what I say. Whatever you want to call it is fine, but it is where we are going. Hopefully soon! There is just nothing here for Mike. We could stay here and but we would be in the exact same position in 2 years. If we go "back east" in 2 years we will be where we want to be. We have a couple of friends in the telecom business for companies "back east" that are rolling out nationwide, but are in the beginning stages. It would be great to get in now and grow with a company that is successful there and is going to be successful across the country.

We know it is going to be tough. Our house here has dropped in value so much we can't even refi our first mortgage. Our second has such a high interest rate that we can at least drop it down significantly enough to make it worth it. There are 2 houses in our immediate neighborhood that are rentals and they are larger than ours (not as beautiful, and not on the park) that are renting for less than $1500. This screws us, but if we can get $1000 a month, we will be okay. Not ideal, but okay. We will rent "back east" until we can sell here. What sucks is that if we could get the rent the house is worth, we could rent whatever we wanted in NY. But really, to be honest, I am excited about downsizing for awhile.

Reagan is going CRAZY! Since Mike isn't working, she is staying home and not going to Aunt Chris's. I go to my office in the morning, but even if I leave early, I still bring home work. All she wants is to be with Mike and I. She won't play in her playroom or watch a movie in her playroom if Mike and I are doing something somewhere else. She is so cute that I when I start to get irritated that she is up my butt I start to feel bad because she is so stinking cute and happy. Sometimes I just look at her and think "how can you be so happy right now, everything is shit" and I immediately feel bad because I don't want to her ever stop being that happy for no reason. Jonikka and Chris have been really great. I can call them if Reagan just needs sometime away from us and they take her. We started a play group with the 5 2-year old in the family. We are rotating 2 hours on Friday morning. Sheri did the first one last week and I am doing this week (of course I have nothing planned). She starts playschool with Miss Kristen Monday and Wednesday after Labor day. She has a little backpack and a dress for the first day of school. She can't wait.

Mike is going CRAZY too. It is just a big waiting game. It is hard for him. He is secure enough to know that he has a good resume and he is great with people. He is struggling with the fact that it is a dirty market out here and "back east" he is an unknown. He really is on board to move. There is just not enough here for us. Omigosh, we sold the Harley tonight! How long have I been waiting to do that! I got $1200 for it and that went straight into the "moving fund". He has been really great about being frugal. He is probably worse than me sometimes! He does however spoil Reagan with candy when they go actually go to the store. I just hate that because once she SMELLS candy, it is all she talks about. And she can bargain like nobodys business!

And I have been going to work everyday just to have a couple hours by myself. July was our best month ever. August started out as a dud. We didn't get an order for August until last week. I need 40 orders a month to be okay. As of 2 weeks ago we had zero. As of tonight we are at 45. It makes for a long weekend. I love it though. I am only happy when I am stressed out busy. It gets my mind off of everything else....almost.

So that is Team Candland right now

SUPER SECRET...SHHH! DON'T TELL!

2008-08-27T00:33:00.000-04:00

I can't believe the number of people on Facebook! I feel like I am in my 20's again! Anyway, I wanted to give you the secret scoop, don't share until I say "Go!"...We are moving back East. Well, "back" East sounds weird. We've never been there, so how can we go back? But, whatever you decide to call it-we are moving there. Most likely New York, maybe Chicago (but not very likely). And it will happen in the next month.

"BACK" EAST OR BUST!!

XOXO
SUE

doggies

2008-08-06T01:15:00.003-04:00

it is amazing how popular i am when i have treats!

big girl

2008-08-05T22:16:00.002-04:00

tonight was reagan's last swim class for the summer session. she "was very brave today" according to coach kalob. we start fall session the week after next. also this week she has her "new" big girl bed. she doesn't seem to notice that it is her crib minus a wall. in fact, she wakes up in the middle of the night and will just sit there and cry. she won't just get out of bed. its amusing. after about 1/2 an hour it gets annoying.