Pop Goes The Popcorn

I recently introduced the Madore-ables to something amazing.

It's the best thing since sliced bread.

It's the best thing since the invention of the wheel.

It's the best thing since, well...

Popcorn!

The popcorn popper has been plugged in, now let the fun begin!

Concentration...

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

"POPCORN MOMMY!!!!!!"


Daddy was called away last night for an after work meeting, so that left the Madore-ables and I to find some entertainment. After a visit from my friend Rachael, we went onto our back porch to blow bubbles. Even though it was a little chilly, we had a picnic dinner and followed up with a "slumber party".

Play Dates = Happy Kids, Happy Mommies

On Friday, I took the Madore-ables out to western Massachusetts to visit my good friend, Chrissy and her daughter, Abby for a long, over-due play date. I've known Chrissy since college, and Samantha & Abby birthdays are just a few months away from each other. It's always good to get together to catch up...play dates aren't just for the kids you know ;)

After we arrived, we drove to Winchendon to Lake Dennison Recreational park. We stayed for a solid four hours and the girls had an absolute blast. The Madore-ables certainly played hard, and had so much fun. It was a quiet drive home, except for my iPod that was on shuffle the entire ride. The girls had a HUGE dinner, then bath time and immediately afterwards, bedtime. It's amazing how a little fresh air will knock you out.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day:

Samantha testing the waters with her "piggies"

Sarah and Abby building a sand castle

Samantha just watched the sights and sounds

Sarah had so much fun digging around

It was breezy and Samantha was cold

In between sand castle building, Sarah decided to run laps between the water and the sand

Splash Pad...Part Dos

My Mom and I took the Madore-ables to Splash Pad in Derry, New Hampshire yesterday. It's the second trip that we've made this Summer, and I plan on continuing to take them. I highly recommend it for all mommies with young-ins. (In case you missed my first blog about Splash Pad, click here).

The girls had an absolute blast once again. We spent a good chunk of time on the playground portion, and once Mom and I couldn't stand the hot Summer sun anymore, we decided to venture our way over to the splash pad portion. The girls were shy at first, but little by little, they got closer and closer to the water sprayers.

They never even napped on the way home, so after dinner and a bath, it was a very early bedtime for the Madore-ables.

Here are some highlights from our Splash Pad adventure yesterday:

Life Can Be A Picnic...If You Make One!

My mother bought the Madore-ables one of those Little Tykes picnic benches a few months ago, so we've been spending a lot of time having lunch time picnics on our back porch.

Sarah would like to know if you would like a Goldfish cracker?

Splash Pad...Fun For Any Age!

Today I took the Madore-ables to Derry, New Hampshire to Splash Pad. We were joined by my mom and my friend Kerry and her daughter Shannon.

My girls had an absolute blast. I had a blast just watching what they were getting into. First of all, there are so many reasons to like love Splash Pad:

1. Easy to drive to...if you're in the New England area that is. (Sorry out-of-state readers)
2. Plenty of parking (1 medium size parking lot, and 1 large size lot)
3. The parking is separated from the playground area
4. Plenty of playground space (1 large land lot with 2 playgrounds with various types of challenges for all age levels)
5. Plenty of swings
6. Plenty of picnic tables and grass...even a picnic area with a roof for large groups
7. Concession stand
8. Lots of areas to walk and explore
9. Clean bathrooms
10. Clean playground area
11. Everything looks updated, and safe...especially the stairs and the ladders
12. Did I mention Splash Pad is FREE?!?!?

That's just the playground part...I haven't even mentioned the "Splash Pad" part. In case you're wondering, the splash pad is an area with sprinklers, and water jets spraying from the ground. It's honestly just a bunch of fun for any age. "Splash" doesn't even touch the amount of fun the Madore-ables had today...more like "cannon ball".





Here are some photos from the day:

Splash Pad is located off exit 4 off of Interstate 93. If you plug in 14 Humphrey Road in Derry, N.H. into your GPS (if you have one), it will come up. The entrance looks like a long driveway to some one's house, but I assure you, it's not.

The 3-story large playground (red slides) in the foreground, and there's a smaller playground (blue slides) in the background of the photo.

3-story larger playground from a different view

The Splash Pad portion

Another view of the Splash Pad

Smiles were all around at Splash Pad

Sarah was a little timid at first, but she got more daring as the afternoon went on.

I think Sam had fun...don't you?

A Day At The Water Park...H2Oh So Much Fun!

Today was a fun day for the Madoreables and I. We woke up very early and drove down to Arlington, Massachusetts to meet Trish, (one of the fabulous ladies I walked with this past May in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer) her daughter, Chantal and her two babies: Bella and Bryson. What a great time we had.

The day started off great. I packed our beach bag / outdoor bag last night so that I wouldn't forget anything. I got up earlier than usual to make sure I packed plenty of yummy goodies to eat for our picnic. I laid the girls outfits out and left the sunscreen near the changing table so I wouldn't forget to lather them up. I managed to get them up and dressed in 10 minutes including the sunscreen. I check the clock, 8:05...doing great for time. Ok, shoes are next. I don't bother putting Sarah's shoes on only because I know she's going to pull those shoes off before I stick my key in the ignition. Samantha was excited to wear her new water shoes that we just bought at Target. (To which she proudly announced to anyone and everyone that "Mommy bought my shoes at Target!"). Ok, let's get ready for my mental check list: beach bag / outdoor bag, check. Camera, check. Breakfast to go cups with lids, check. Shoes for Sarah, check. Sippy cups, check. Madoreables, check. Ok, we're good to go. We head down the stairs and out to the driveway. Samantha decides that she wants to take her time getting into the car. I look at the clock again, 8:25. Yikes. I don't have a cell phone, so I can't call Trish. I finally pull up to our meeting spot at 8:40. I hate being late.

The ride down to Arlington thankfully went very smoothly. One of the things that I don't miss now that I'm a stay at home Mom is the early morning Boston traffic. We arrived in Arlington just after 9:00 in one piece. We had a fantastic drive on the way down. Several renditions of "The Wheels On The Bus" and "Where Is Thumbkin" were sung. Several questions of, "Mommy? Who's singing this song [on the radio]?" and "Where are we Mommy?" were asked. And of course, Sarah's newest discovery is when cars are driving alongside at the same speed as I am in another lane, Sarah will yell out "HI" to the other cars and trucks. Not once, or twice, but until the car would pass me, or I would pass the car.

When we arrived at Chantal's house, the girls were very excited to meet the babies and of course meet Chantal. I open the back door and noticed that Sarah needed a diaper change...umm...stat. So, I pull her out of the car seat and follow Samantha and Trish inside Chantal's house and next thing I'm facing is what I'd like to call a "diaper-tastrophe". Need I say more? And while I'm in the middle of changing Sarah and up to my elbows in uhh...baby wipes, Samantha announces, "Mommy! I need to go potty!". To make a long story short, Samantha made it to the potty, and Sarah was changed with no further trauma. I was ready for a nap and it was barely 9:30.

Thankfully, the rest of the day was much more fun and many more smiles were to be had. We arrived at the public water park with front row parking and barely a crowd. The park was all closed in. One half was the water park, and the other half was a beautiful playground. Samantha was a little nervous at first, but she warmed up right away. Sarah was very timid and wanted nothing to do with the water sprayers, but once she found the playground, she wanted nothing to do with Mommy. The weather was absolutely perfect. Not too hot, the water was the perfect temperature. The girls had a great time. We had an early lunch, and by the time we left, it would have been the same time for Madoreables lunch had we been at home. So, by the time we got home, it was actually nap time. Sarah fell asleep just before our exit, but she didn't wake up at all when I pulled her out of the car seat, or when I put her in the crib. She didn't even flinch when I took her shoes off. Sam and I had a great story time, and then she fell asleep. Three hours later, the girls woke up and were well rested. Normally I do bathtime after dinner and right before bed, but I wanted the girls to have more time with my father who came over for dinner. So, I had the girls play in the tub for a little while. It was nice to see my father...the girls were especially excited to see "Bapa". Samantha had a great time showing Bapa her new toys that she got for her birthday.

Here's a few pictures from our day of fun!

It's Madore-able...Family Style!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We certainly had a great one. Jeremy's friend Rob from college came to visit us and stayed for dinner on Saturday. My girls loved seeing a new face, and of course loved having someone new to play with. Thanks again for coming to visit Rob :)

Today (Sunday) the Madoreables, Jeremy and I drove to Winslow Park in Freeport, Maine to celebrate my father-in-law's 61st birthday...but don't tell him I announced that ;) We had a great time even in the drizzly rain. Thankfully, two of Jeremy's brothers brought large "pop up" tents and we were all able to huddle underneath to keep dry. Jeremy comes from a large family, so when we get together, there's a ton of food, a lot of laughs and good conversation. Samantha and Sarah had a great time playing with their cousins.

After we left Freeport, we had a nice drive home. Thankfully our girls are fantastic passengers. Sarah was asleep in her carseat after 10 minutes of being en route, and Sam played with her new laptop that Jason & Rachael gave to her for her birthday last week for the entire way home. (By the way, this laptop receives a big recommendation from me to any mom who's kids are learning their ABC's & 123's. 2 thumbs up from this Mom). Once we hit home, I ran inside real quick to grab some leftover hotdog/hamburger buns and we went to Newburyport, Mass to feed the ducks. Well, unfortunately the ducks already had their dinner, so they had no interest in our sustanence...however, the fish were very happy to eat the bread that was being thrown to them. Samantha was quite intrigued at the fact the fish were eating the bread so quickly. Afterwards, we drove home for a quick splash in the bathtub, some story time, bottles and lights out. These girls had a long, but fun day! Time to rest up and do lots of errands with Mommy tomorrow!

Here are some photos from Sunday:

Fantastic menu as always when we get together...
















My sister-in-law Cathy made some YUMMY whoopie pies...chocolate and vanilla.
















My sister-in-law Jessica made a YUMMY home made cheese cake.
















I did manage to sneak a picture of Samantha just before lunch























Sarah playing on the playground at Winslow Park
















Samantha and her cousin Anna taking a ride on this crazy, teeter totter, bouncy thing at Winslow Park. Well, whatever you would like to call it, I think they had a pretty good time on it...don't you agree?
















Hmmm...I don't know...let's look at another picture to be sure there's plenty of fun going on here
YUP!

















As of today, there are 20 Madore grandchildren in total (17 were at today's picnic/cookout, and 3 live in Pittsburgh, PA who couldn't be with us today.) There are 2 more on the way...one due in September 2010 and one in January 2011.
















Sarah snoozed the entire ride home tonight.

























Samantha feeding the ducks...who we found out really weren't hungry after all. The fish had a great snack instead.
























Sarah trying to get a better view of the ducks.

A Playdate, A Heatwave & An Air Conditioner

Today I took the girls and met up with two of my college friends (Christine & Sarah) and their children (Abigail and Mackenzie) for a playdate / picnic lunch at Roby Park in Nashua, NH. We had a great time getting together. What a beautiful playground, I highly recommend it, especially if you like playgrounds that are fenced in. There's plenty of parking, and plenty of room for picnicking. Two thumbs up from this Mom.

Everything went perfectly today except for the weather. No, it didn't downpour. There weren't any thunderstorms or thundershowers. Instead, Boston is experiencing the first heatwave of the Summer of 2010. Sam & Sarah had a great time playing, but the heat really made them cranky. Oh, who am I kidding? I can safely speak for myself, and Christine & Sarah and the girls that we were all hot and sweaty and cranky. You know it's hot when you're just sitting down eating your lunch, and the sweat is just running down your forehead. Thankfully, my friend Christine's mother, Judy lives in Nashua, and had a very nice, air conditioned home just waiting for us at our disposal. Well, as much fun as the park was, we decided to dash to our cars and head on over to Judy's house. Judy was well prepared for activities for our girls. She saved Christine's "Little People" school house, and the farm house from when she was a child. Plus, she also had wooden blocks, large plastic containers and wooden spoons...the most simple of toys which provided hours of entertainment for the girls today. Happy children = happy mommies/friends who can talk and catch up on life. I tell you, it was fabulous. Special thank you to Judy for hosting our playdate soiree!

Here are some of my favorite images from the day:

(You can click on the photo to enlarge it)