Winter is starting to stink!

We continue to get hammered with snow and ice and freezing temps. Miraculously we have only missed three or four days of school with a bunch of two hour delays thrown in. We are very grateful for the giant hill in our front driveway - still lots of desire to get outside and go sledding even in the freezing temps... When we aren't sledding or in school we are doing a lot of this:

Our first attempt at SCRABBLE.

The finale board!

As Ben is reading up a storm, we felt it was time for the kids to learn how to play scrabble. They did a pretty good job. We definitely helped place the words they had come up with, but all in all a great first effort on everyone's part!

More sledding! The kiddos are the lump on one small sled in the center of the pic! HAHAHA!

I'm at the bottom of the hill blocking them from going into the street. That's GOOD parenting!

Mo Willam had a birthday so we went to his "party" at the library. Lots of crafts and Mo stories with our pals.

And all Mom knew was the pigeon stories. Wowsa, a whole new world has opened up. Naked Mole Rats, anyone???

Found this the other day - further proof that Ben worships the ground Em walks on and will do anything she asks him to. He is dressed is all her clothes with her pullup on his head. (Yes, she is still in pullups... Meanwhile Ben has been diaper / pull up free for THREE YEARS... Figure that out.)

I love my sister...

Ben is awesome at mixing board games and coming up with his own rules / objectives. We are so freakin' in love with this kid!

No, my table does not ALWAYS look like this... Oh, wait, YES, it does. *sigh*

Minion Monopoly = Friday happy hour!! No complaints here.

We are all equally good. Don't challenge the Batter Bunch!

Every Monday night Em has indoor lacrosse. I've gotten smart and brought the soccer ball the past few times and Ben plays with his pal, Sammy while the girls do their drills.

No, Ben, you CANNOT touch the ball with your hands!!!

We are continuing to enjoy "family swim" on Wednesday evenings in the elementary school pool. The kids were finally brave enough to hit the deep end without me in the water with them last week. My goal tomorrow night is to get them to jump into the deep end verses just clinging to the wall.  Wish me luck!

Summer, please!!

The PTA had our annual "Olympic" event with the teachers and parents - purple vs white - our school colors. Ben spent the ENTIRE 90 minutes eating a small bag of sour patch kids - completely torturing himself by nibbling on them little by little and being soured out with each bite. I was hoping for the sour face but I caught this instead.

We do love the BFF, Samuel!

Speaking of BFFs... This is Emma's new BFF. Meet Dandelion. She has been saving her money for weeks now (she earns a quarter every day for making her bed and keeping her room clean) to purchase "Sweetykins." When she had enough ($5.99), we hit up the toy store. One look at Dandelion and poor Sweetykins was forgotten. At first I hated these stuffed animal waste of money toys... BUT, she PLAYS with them - like, you know, makes up elaborate stories and stuff. Hours will go by with her in her room with these dang Beanie Boos. Best six bucks ever!

Lighten up, mama! I'm cute!

Kiss

Tonight Ben gave me a kiss good night but our lips hit off target. He stopped and said, "Oh, no, mom we gotta kiss again, that wasn't right."

The Feb Freeze out

The temps have dropped and the frigid winds are kicking up but that won't stop the Batter Bunch. The Grand Opening our new office had to be delayed a week due to an 18 inch snow drop in the 1st blizzard of the year. That didn't worry us - it gave us an extra week to invite people to the office! We had over 100 people attend, the space was maxed out, with overflow spilling down the hallway. Good thing the fire marshall was nowhere to be found!! I'm so proud of all the amazing pioneers in this pic. This is truly our year to explode and grass roots spread our crusade!!

Watch my fingers!!

All work and no play makes mommy a cranky lady, so I was happy to get a night out on the town with 10 amazing mamas. I organized a "club" in our tiny village called the K2 club and these fab gals are some of the participants. Each grade in our school has approx 80 kids - super small - so we were fascinated to learn that 17 families out of the 80 had kids in both Kindergarten and 2nd grade. We were all on the same birthing plan! Crazy! Needless to say, I thought it was important to get the parents together as it's likely our kids will be in the same class going forward for the next 12 years - and it's good to know the parents of the friends your kiddo is hanging out with. I'm happy to report at 17 mamas are awesome, now to meet the daddys.

The Night Owls of the group!

Daddy and I have discovered roasted beets. Seriously, roasted beets? Who knew how much love is packed in each bite!

Makes me hungry looking at it!

When the wind chill isn't below freezing, we are outside sledding in our front yard. I love that we don't have to drive anywhere to go sledding!!! The paths are getting super fast from all the sled runs and freezing rain. This is a typical shot of Ben at the bottom of the driveway.

Bail off before you crash into a tree!

Ben lost tooth two. This one really loved being in Ben's mouth because it took FOREVER to bust loose. As you can see, the permanent tooth was already growing in behind it!

I love a good SHOW ME YOUR TOOTH smile.

I'm not sure how this has happened, but the 100th day of school is coming up fast. Ben needed a "super hero" cape, so of course he chose lego star war*s.

Super Ben!

One of the K2 families is our new business partner, too! The kids are in the same classes so we are play dating up a storm with them.

Party!

Ben and his twin. Seriously, it's weird how much these boys look alike.

Valentine's Day ever so awesomely fell on a Saturday this year so we invited all the spouses of our associates to the office and had a special "Partner's Meeting" with recognition (trophies and certificates) for all the families in attendance. It was such an amazing morning! I love all the people we have surrounded ourselves with - not a dud in the bunch! And I love that I can bring my kids to the office with me and no one blinks an eye. :)

Telling my "story".

We were forced to stay in last night for Vday - the Mayor called a state of emergency due to hazardous winds and snow. So, we snuggled in on the cozy couch and watched the original Muppet Movie with the kiddos. Ben got bored here and there, but Em enjoyed it and it was the perfect way to spend our love fest night!

"Why are there so many songs about rainbows....?"

Ben turns SIX!

We are in full celebration mode this week for Ben's 6th birthday. He was counting the days by x-ing them off his calendar every night. It was super cute! As his special day fell mid-week, we decided to hold off and have his party (it's the first year he has wanted a bigger one) on the weekend.

Tuesday night after the kids fell asleep, I busted out the balloons and crafts and started decorating. I'm telling ya, people, don't waste money on decorations - balloons hanging EVERYWHERE make your house so very festive. I got a bag of 40 for $4 at Walmart and started puffing!

Ignore the messy kitchen in the background!!!

I cooked up this chocolate cake with chocolate frosting from my favorite recipe of heavy cream and chocolate chips. DE-licious.

No store bought for this family!!

For the first time ever, Emma woke up before Ben (she knew we were going to celebrate before school) and ran in and jumped on him to wake him up. He came out into the dining room all smiles at the cake and the decorations all for HIM!

I might be a "little" happy!

It's amazing how well they get along when there is chocolate cake for breakfast!

We LOVE each other.

We sent them off to school all sugared up and Ben had a great day. He got to be the line leader and dance around the halls all day sporting this awesome hat! Daddy and I showed up to school at 2:45 to read the class a book (Ben chose the "Scrambled States of America" game book and eat ice pops. We had a blast with the kids and Mrs. Shannon, his teacher, is simply a superstar.

I'm 6!

As daddy was in the field helping a family Wed night, I took the kids back to the school for "family swim" evening. It was the first time in the water for Ben since Costa Rica but he jumped right in and all his mad swimming skills came back quickly.

I'm still a fish!

The kids helped me choose the party games for his party with all the boys in his class. Em was a great helper in setting up the house.

Picasso painting the headless lego guy.

The final product after all 12 boys had a turn. Hahahahaha!

Awesomeness.

We played a bunch of party games, had some pizza and cupcakes. Ben was so happy being the center of attention.

Pizza!!

Sing it out!

Ben opened his gifts and gave big hugs to EVERYONE after opening each present. It was adorable!

Such a great group of kiddos!!

This little guy's mama is an artist and brought this lego guy for us to use for pics during the party. It was such a great time. And, only 90 minutes. A birthday should never be more than 90 minutes. :)

Lego Simon!

Year of the GOAT

We finished out 2014 strong. While Florida was warm and Sunny, NY and PA were frosty and fun. We returned to NY on the 26th from FL and spent one night in our beds before heading to PA for Christmas celebrations 2 and 3!

First stop, Grandpa's house where the kids were spoiled beyond belief with goodies. They both also received new bedding which always amazes me is such a hit with kids! Ben's is the L*go Movie and Emma's is fun purple and pink bubbles and swirls. (They made me put it on their beds immediately upon returning home!)

The next day we celebrated with Gramma Lou and the Burke cousins - more awesome goodies, that is for sure. The funniest part of the day was Ben's last gift that he opened from Aunt Lisa. If you recall, he specifically asked Santa for three lego sets - two of which he received and one he did not (because it was $100!!!). When Aunt Lisa came through with it as a combo Christmas / Birthday gift his reaction was PRICELESS. He ripped off the paper and screamed, "Yes! I always wanted a Republic Gunship!" and fell to the floor giggling and hugging the giant lego box.

The celebrations were fast and furious that weekend because Mommy and Daddy needed to get back to NY as we MOVED INTO A BIGGER AND BETTER OFFICE and needed to get it ready for a Jan 1st opening!!! We are very excited about this challenge and took a big risk - but with hard work, big risk can turn into big rewards - so our nose is to the grindstone! 

Best Christmas presents on a daily basis.

Em had a sleep over at her bestie's house New Year's Eve eve. As we were heading to our neighbor pal's house to watch the ball drop, I suggested she try to catch a nap New Year's eve afternoon as there wasn't a whole lot of sleeping going on at the sleepover. Em is not one to snooze during the day, so I snuggled in with her on the couch and the warmth was just enough to zonk her out for two hours! She was breathing quite heavy in my ear...

At least one of us snoozed!

We went to Molly's house three doors up the street with 4 other families to ring in the new year. I did not think we would make it to midnight, but once again I underestimated the excitement of a large group of kiddos! We "partied hard" but were all out the door by 12:10. Ha!

Ben is TOTALLY FAKING sleep in this pic.

We all blessedly slept in until 9:30 on New Year's Day! I made a wiggly toothed Ben a waffle for breakfast. An hour later he was talking to me and I noticed a gap in his grin. "Ben, your tooth is gone!" "Whaaaaaaaat?" he replied. He didn't even know it fell out and probably swallowed it with his waffle. As you can see, Ben - like Emma, is a shark as the adult tooth was already growing in behind it. The other bottom front is hanging by threads these days and when he smiles he looks like the purple snaggled tooth Minion which is totally awesome!!!

And yes, the exhausted tooth fairy almost forgot to visit!

New Year's Day was declared PAJAMA DAY and we stayed in pjs all day and played games.

The scrambled states of america - best game ever!

I'm not a fan of plastic no brainer games, but this connect four launcher game is a ton of fun! Sometimes this mama needs to chill out and just enjoy the moment. :)

There were serious battles on 1-1-15.

Ben is a huge geography buff and he also appreciates a fine donut, therefore I get random questions like this on a regular basis:

We googled the answer. It is NO.

We delight daily in conversations with this kid. He is so literal and FUNNY.

hahahahaha.

The Republic Gunship took a few days to build. Daddy had to jump in a few times to deconstruct and reconstruct a section, but he did the bulk of the work himself. He is so proud of the finished product and has it on display on his dresser.

I made this!

Daddy and I escaped the 11 degree January weather with a trip to Palm Springs CA for a leadership retreat. We stayed at the La Quinta Waldorf Astoria resort - absolutely gorgeous and sunny and warm.

Good times!

While poor Gramma Lou suffered in the bungalow with below freezing temps taking care of these crazy kiddos. Thank you, Gramma!!!

They braved the sub zero temps to get some fresh air!

Em started indoor lacrosse this month on Monday nights. She also has piano lessons on Wednesday after school (which she loves and is doing GREAT! Thank you, Abuelita!!). The mom-taxi is getting busy! Last Monday I was chatting with a parent and Ben kept interrupting. I was trying to teach him patience and politeness and this was his response:

Someone needs to put the technology to rest!

Emma was invited to a ice-skating birthday party last night. She has never been on skates and even though I was leary she was not. A few times around the rink clutching the wall and BAM! she figured it out. She had a few solid spills, but never complained and got right back up. It was only 20 degrees out and I was freezing watching her, but she had a blast and didn't want to stop!

I got this!

So proud of you, Emsadoodle!

Merry Christmas 2014

The Batter family has a tradition of seafood on Christmas eve - we Bunch are happy to continue on with the tradition. Daddy made a ridiculously yummy seafood stew - seriously, I scored a keeper for his culinary skills alone!

Some snapper? Yes, please!

We watched "Santa Clause is coming to Town" for the 30th time this season (no freakin' joke - I can quote the movie from start to finish and so can the children...) and then continued with the Eimers family tradition of unwrapping 1 gift on Christmas Eve. Emma chose the biggest present under the tree and Ben went the conservative route - go figure!

Seriously, hurry up and take the picture!!!

Why yes, that is a $25 dollar stuffed animal (*sigh*) but it is all she talked about for months! Ben got a card game about the United States which we promptly opened up and played. As the game is for 8 and up, it required some manipulation of the rules for Ben to understand, which lead to tension for about 3 minutes between Mom and Dad, but in the spirit of Christmas, Dad zipped it and chose to follow Mom's rules which is really a good life lesson in general (what? I'm OLDER, I have more experience!!).

"Best Christmas Eve ever!" exclaimed Ben.

The kids went to bed around 9 with limited resistance. Abuelita worked her charms and told them stories until they fell asleep. Santa arrived promptly after and Mommy was in bed by 10:30. Unfortunately Mommy and Daddy did not sleep well, I'm not sure if we were waiting to hear a kid sneaking into the living room, or the seafood soup was swimming in my belly, but the kids woke us up at 7:30am and I am feeling sleep deprived! They ran out into the living room and did NOT wait for me and started tearing into their gifts from Santa. This is the only morning madness shot I got and it's all blurry. :)

Ben = star wars lego, Em = walkie talkies

Santa and Abuelita were very generous and that is just Christmas #1. We still have Christmas #2 and #3 on Sat and Sun in PA! Ben received black dress shoes from Abuelita along with a nice outfit. I was VERY surprised when he put the shoes on and wore them all morning with his pajamas. Our creature of habit kid (he wears the same sneakers EVERY DAY) is growing up!

I'm styling!

Ben did not hesitate to dive into lego project #1.

No time for smiles! Build! Build! Build!

He also LOVED the Magformers - hint hint (birthday coming soon) - and has been building non-stop all day.

Don't let this pic fool you - I'M HAPPY!

Emma did not hesitate to dive into her crafts (of course, with her beanie boos watching). She has already completed this cupcake pillow and has moved onto the rainbow pillow.

Why, yes, I was just crying - but we won't talk about that!

Look at sleepy Mommy. I can sleep in 2015, right???

love me this bunch...