{our house, the petri dish}

Hi all. Just a quick post to let you know that I haven't posted in a while because we've all been sick (except big Gerard). Gerard ended up with walking pneumonia but he seems to be doing much better. Morgan has a nasty cough and cold and we hope it doesn't develop into anything worse. I had some nasty 24-hour stomach bug yesterday but I feel better today. I spent the better part of this afternoon washing linens, scrubbing bathrooms, spraying Lysol and cleaning toys in bleach water. Hopefully the house is free of germs and we can get on to enjoying 2008!

{so sick}

Well, it's been a not-so-great start to 2008 here. Poor little Gerard is so sick. He's miserable. So far, his fever has topped off at 102.5. He's coughing like a 60-year-old smoker and his nose is running so much that I actually watched it drip onto his pants. Gross, I know. Sorry for the graphic details.

He basically sat on the couch all morning and either watched TV or stared at the wall. He took a break to eat a little lunch and to play a few games of Memory and Trouble. Then he took a nap, and he's been sleeping now for almost 2 1/2 hours. Maybe he'll wake up feeling a little better.

I took some pictures of his poor, sad face while he was on the couch. Check out the glassy eyes and red under the nose. Poor baby...






And here are some pictures of Morgan. Check out her one little tooth....

{happy new year!}

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's Eve and I hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2008!

I've been busy these last few nights trying to catch up on some scrapbooking. I'm not usually one to fall behind, but it's been a little busy here since April.... I'm working on Gerard's 2007 album and I'm finally up to September! YAY! Here are the latest, for those of you who are interested. (You'll have to use your imagination on the journaling -- I used a lot of last names and places, so I covered them up.)

















And here are some from Morgan's album. Some of them have been done for a while, but I don't think I posted them. I'm also not necessarily doing these chronologically, so you'll notice some are pretty recent while others are from back in April. I will go back and finish her album, I assure you!


these next two go together:

{cool stuff}

Guess what came today?!?! My new Wacom Bamboo tablet!

I haven't had too much time to play around with it yet, but I'll be sure to show you what I can do with it. It's sooo cool!

Also, here are a couple of videos of the kids. The first is Morgan and Levi... they're so cute together. It's fun to watch them interacting. I wouldn't call it playing, but they seem to have fun with each other!

This next video includes some random clips of Gerard and Morgan. First of all, it's clear that Morgan is going to need to be a LOUD and EARLY talker if she wants to compete with her brother. She's well on her way! Next, check out Gerard's goofy victory dance that he performs as though he's in the endzone and just scored the game-winning touchdown of the Superbowl. It doesn't matter if we're playing hockey in the basement, racing cars around the coffee table, or, as in this video, if he's just won a game of Trouble. Big Gerard says it's grounds for a penalty for excessive celebrating. (I know that part is dark, but it was too cute to leave out.) And then you can see Morgan clapping -- she's so proud of herself and so are we!

{another new look}

I don't have any new pictures to share today, but I thought I'd share a new look for the blog! I hope you like it....

Oh, and I thought I'd share a recipe, too. We had New England Clam Chowder (from Cooking Light) tonight and it was very good. Not quite as thick and creamy as "real" clam chowder, but it was still good. Finished off with bread from the breadmaker, and we had a nice dinner!

New England Clam Chowder

4 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
2 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice
4 bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups cubed red potato
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup half-and-half
Thyme sprigs (optional)

Drain clams through a colander into a bowl, reserving liquid and clams. Combine clam liquid and clam juice.
Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, and garlic to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Add clam juice mixture, potato, and next 4 ingredients (through bay leaf); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender.

Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth; add to pan. Stir in clams and half-and-half. Cook 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Serve with bacon. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups chowder and 1 1/2 teaspoons bacon)

CALORIES 194 (25% from fat); FAT 5.4g (sat 2.7g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 12.3g; CHOLESTEROL 32mg; CALCIUM 111mg; SODIUM 639mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23.7g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2007

{merry christmas}

I hope all of our Christmas-celebrating friends and family have a great holiday! We wish we could be at Nani and Poppy's with everyone, but unfortunatly we can't. At least we got to see everyone a couple weeks ago.

Anyway, here's the latest....

***Our friends and next-door neighbors Shauna and Chris welcomed their third little girl, Savannah Rae, into the world on December 20. She's adorable and has red hair just like Maddie. They're all doing well and Shauna came home from the hospital just 24 hours after she had her. Congratulations!!

***Gerard had his holiday party at school on Wednesday. All the kids got dressed up and looked so cute in their red and green outfits. Gerard didn't wear red and green, but he did wear a cute new sweater! He had fun, and continues to tell anyone who wishes him a merry Christmas that we do NOT celebrate Christmas -- we celebrate Hanukkah! Next, we need to teach him a little tact.



***Morgan is 8 months old already. Can you believe it!!?!?? She's a great little girl with such a personality now. She's still awfully stubborn, but she's sleeping and eating a lot better these days. Her favorite thing to do is to play with Gerard and all his toys.








***We were playing in the living room the other day and Gerard said to me "Look, Mommy! A heart!" I looked and couldn't imagine what he was talking about. He was pointing to the coffee table, which only had a plant and a rubber band on it. Then I looked more closely and saw that the rubber band, along with its reflection, was making a heart. Of course I had to take a picture....


Well, that about wraps it up. Happy holidays, everyone!

{gorgeous AND smart}

...and i'm not biased or anything!!!

Here are the pictures we had done at a local photographer's. Didn't they turn out great?! (Please don't print them -- they're copyrighted.)




And here's Gerard's first report card. Brilliant, if I don't say so myself!



That's about it for now. Goodnight!