Sunday, December 26, 2010

the road less traveled.....

what do you get when you combine the following....
2 adults...
2 kids...
a case of water...
a 6 pack of dr pepper...
4 frappucinos...
endless snacks...
dvds...
lots of luggage....
and 18 hours in the car?????

A SUCCESSFUL DRIVE FROM NoVA TO STL (that's st louis for those of you who don't know!)

yes, that's right.....we made it to st louis and have been having a great time here! we left NoVA around 3pm on wednesday, made 2 stops on our way out of town and then sat in LOTS of traffic all the way through the VA/DC/MD area. great way to start a long trip...NOT! we stopped for dinner around 7pm...cracker barrel of course, and then it was back on the road. i don't usually do a lot of the driving, but was feeling up to it, so i continued to drive all the way to zanesville, ohio (almost halfway to stl)....then it was d's turn! the boys were doing great....switching between dvd's, playing on the iphone, coloring on their travel aquadoodles, and sleeping. that was....until around 2am....when jacob awoke with one of his bellyaches. UGH!!! the screaming and crying began and a stop was necessary. d and i knew he just needed to poop and he'd be fine. but....for anyone who has been around j when he tries to poop, it can be quite traumatizing. he screams in agony, as he jumps up and down, shouting "NO"....all while trying to get it out. it is absolutely heartbreaking to watch/listen to him endure this pain!!! we're still not sure what's causing all of this, but one thing's for sure....it is bad! his endless screams inside the silent rest stop were echoing, and even brought the janitor over to ask me if there was anything he could do to help me. i thanked him and told him no. about 30 minutes (and lots of other stoppers-by) later, jacob finally pooped....and we were back on the road again ;)
after that, it was only stops for gas and potty....all the way to STL.
we made it here around 7amCST....18 hours after leaving our house!
we've been staying busy with Wii, reading, legos, new toys, watching movies...and lots of relaxing....oh and lots of eating too :) hey, afterall, that's what vaca is all about, right!!!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

and the party continues....

as promised...more pics from andrew's bday party....

nanny joins in the fun!

2 of my boyz...

not too clear...but that's jacob & me

the gang...

andrew with one of his best buddies, dagan

weeeeee sarah!!!

spinnin' round....

the birthday king


makin' his wish...





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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

party on...

andrew's birthday was a blast! my niece, sarah, had spent the night here, and the kids greeted andrew's bday at 5:45am! we had planned to take andrew out for a bday breakfast, and by the time we headed out, the kids had already finished 2 rounds of breakfast (that's what happens when they're up that early!!!). so...andrew asked me if he could have ice cream instead...my answer...."SURE!" well....then of course jacob and sarah wanted ice cream for breakfast too. i agreed to let sarah join in the fun, but poor jacob and his dairy-free diet (future post on this), he was left out! so while derek, nanny, jacob and i enjoyed our breakfast, sarah & andrew each had chocolate ice cream. i had told the waiter it was andrew's bday, but that we just wanted a candle and to sing by ourselves...we know how embarrassed andrew can get. he seemed to enjoy this much better than an entourage of waiters belting out happy birthday to him!

sleepover - sarah, andrew, natalie (neighbor) and jacob watching a movie

nothin' better than ice cream for breakfast...

and sharing it with your cousin!


...and the party was a hit! i don't have too many pics, since my camera battery died about 30 mins into the party...but i was able to borrow my friend's camera and will post more pics as soon as i have them from her. this was the first birthday party i've held outside the house and i must say it was SO much easier!!! all we had to bring was a cake, candles, goody bags and the people! and it was super nice not to have to clean up after all 20 guests left the party!

nanny with andrew & sarah

sarah climbing the bounce wall

andrew & karley
(karley's mom and i decided this could be their engagement photo!)

andrew on one of the slides

derek and jacob sliding away

everyone's having fun!

yes...i do have a 3rd child!

andrew enjoyed opening his presents as soon as we got home....and even sharing them with jacob. well....some of them....the LEGOS were off limits!



i'll be sure to post the other pics when i have them...

Sunday, December 12, 2010

S-I-X...

yes...you read that right...andrew is 6 years old today! i can't believe it! for some reason, 6 seems SO much older than 5! birthdays are always a great time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. as i do that, i just can't believe how much andrew has grown in the past year. and i don't just mean his height :) andrew is smart, kind, creative, adorable, sweet, loving, caring, considerate and honest. he has such a big heart! he will sit and read a whole book by himself...instead of complaining of boredom, he will pull out art supplies and color me a picture...he will earn a prize at school and decide to give it to jacob, since he doesn't get prizes at school....he will run into my arms after school and give me hugs and kisses....he will squeeze my hand 3 times to tell me "I - LOVE - YOU"...after squeezing his hand back, he will return with 5 squeezes, meaning "I- LOVE - YOU - THE - MOST"...
andrew has a way of brightening everyone's day...his smile can light up the darkest room!
he is my baby...he will always be my baby...my first born...
as i look toward the future, i can't wait to see what is in store for andrew. i know his intelligence, creativity and amazing personality will bring great things to him.

andrew philip banocy....i love you! happy birthday my sweet boy!
love, mommy

about 38 weeks prego

december 2004 - just a few days old

halloween 2005

1st haircut

1st birthday - 2005

2nd birthday - 2006
halloween 2007
3rd birthday - 2007
4th birthday - 2008
halloween 2009
5th birthday - 2009
halloween 2010

Monday, November 29, 2010

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  • Wednesday, November 24, 2010

    GOBBLE up all this cuteness...

    HOLY SHIT....MY KIDS ARE SO FREAKIN CUTE!!! i know, i might be a bit bias, but c'mon you gotta admit, they are pretty cute! i know it and i'm reminded every day by the funny and adorable things they do and say.

    this week brought upon us thanksgiving feasts (yes, multiple feasts this year!) at school. all of the kindergarten kids at andrew's school gathered in the cafeteria to perform 2 songs before their feast. while my video of this did not come out well enough to post, i can assure you that had you been there, you would've been laughing. i don't think one child knew the words...and if they did...none of them were singing together! however....they were still so stinkin cute...all dressed up in their thanksgiving gear!

    andrew was surprised by the special guests at his feast (in addition to mommy, of course!)....daddy, jacob, nanny, papa, lauren & sarah!


    jacob's preschool held its annual feast today. this non-traditional feast makes me laugh every year. think about it....what kind of food do you serve at a synagogue thanksgiving feast??? you certainly can't serve turkey alongside the dairy foods available. remember...all items must be kosher dairy. so...the school gets quite creative...
    i present to you....the egg salad turkey!

    jacob is proudly showing off his "thank you tree"...the leaves each have what he told the teachers he is grateful for! how cute!!!

    so...i'll say it again...MY KIDS ARE SO CUTE AND I LOVE THEM TO PIECES!!!!!
    HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

    Monday, November 22, 2010

    SUMthing to brag about...

    BEWARE...ANOTHER MOMMY BRAG SESSION IS NOW IN PROGRESS...

    while at a friend's house, andrew completed this math worksheet...without ANY help!!!


    he has also earned 10 croc stocks (his school is the island creek crocs) for following the croc's creed of being respectful, responsible, safe, honest cooperative and kind. for earning the 10 croc stocks, he came home with this certificate!


    we are so very proud of andrew and all of his accomplishments so far in kindergarten!

    Sunday, November 14, 2010

    a week of gratitude

    i decided to post weekly, rather than daily, some of the things we are grateful for...

    over the past week, andrew has said he's thankful for....
    *pizza & movie playdate with neighbors
    *seeing mommy at the end of the school day (ooohhhh.....he melts my heart!!!)
    *sunshine

    some of things i've been thankful for this past week....
    *my health
    *great neighbors
    *flexible work schedule

    what are you thankful for???

    Saturday, November 13, 2010

    say cheese...

    as promised, the whole slice on "the pop shop"....


    ok...so i told you that my sis had mentioned seeing this place on "throwdown with bobby flay" and that it was somewhere in the philly/nj area. we checked google maps on our way up to jersey and couldn't really tell how far out of the way it would be. we checked again when leaving jersey and it seemed to be only a few miles out of the way...so we figured, heck let's do it! it'll be an adventure.

    after a little coaxing from my mom & sis, i called the restaurant (we were about 30 mins away from there), and gave them our story, hoping it would get us somewhere. i explained that my sis had seen them on the show and that we were traveling home to dc from the jersey shore...and that we wanted to take a detour to try their cheese! after being placed on hold for a minute, i was told that there would be a table waiting for us when we arrived :) we were beyond giddy!!!

    our table :)

    the official bobby flay throwdown!


    need i remind you that we had eaten a BIG BREAKFAST only a few hours earlier and none of us was hungry....that was, until we saw the menu. yes...30 grilled cheese sandwiches. i must say though, that they weren't really all "grilled cheese" sandwiches. some of them were your typical hot sandwiches, with cheese. for example, the "dayton" is your typical monte cristo sandwich...and the "madison" is like a caprese sandwich. that said....they are all served super toasty and gooey...which makes it all SO much better!!! i decided to stick to a somewhat basic grilled cheese and ordered the "stokes", which included bacon and tomato! my mom went classic too, with the "grant" (double bacon, hold the tomato). my sis decided to try the bobby flay creation, leigh style...which means sans bacon (damn vegetarians!). after tasting each other's, we decided these sandwiches were a SLICE ABOVE THE REST, but it's best to keep it simple...stick to the basic sandwiches if you really want to taste a grilled cheese that is out of this world!!! they were beyond yummy and well worth the detour! in fact, we may make this our usual stop on our annual trip to the jersey shore :)

    i'll leave you with a pic of the cheese...

    warning...while this sandwich may appear to be real, it is only a picture. please do not attempt to eat this sandwich :)

    Monday, November 8, 2010

    taking a vacation...one bite at a time...

    it's no secret that people, especially women, tend to "let themselves go" or indulge while on vacation. we come up with lots of excuses to make ourselves feel better about.

    the calories don't count when...
    ...you're with friends
    ...you're on vaca
    ...you just use your hands to pick up the food and not actually use a plate...you're just snacking then anyway!
    ...i'm so good at home all time, it's just this once
    ...on and on and on we go.....

    the women in my family (me, sis, mom, aunt & 2 cousins) get away from it all by taking a girl's weekend every year. in fact, this was our 8th year! it's very low key and goes by way too quickly (just friday-sunday). it didn't take us long (like by friday night) to quickly realize that our weekend tends to revolve around our next meal. let me give you an example....

    saturday morning, after eating BREAKFAST we headed to this adorable spa, which i had found online. we had a variety of services, which were all fab by the way! if you're ever in that neck of the woods, i HIGHLY recommend this quiant spa, run by dawn. along with us, we brought SNACKS. about halfway through the morning, we started thinking about LUNCH. normal, right? one might think. well, after snacking and finishing our spa time, we realized it was getting close to 2pm, and our DINNER reservations were for 6:30. this for sure was not going to be enough time to squeeze in lunch and also our wine and cheese apps before dinner. so...we bumped the reservation to 7pm. before we knew it, it was almost 3pm...with still no lunch in our bellies, we headed to a deli for some SUPER SANDWICHES...and i don't just mean the quality, but the size too! they were awesome! after LUNCH, we snuggled up to watch a movie. during the movie, we started talking about how full we were (not that it was going to stop us though!!!). realizing we still needed time for WINE AND CHEESE before DINNER, said reservation was bumped again...this time to 7:30pm. we enjoyed our wine and cheese, and dinner....and came home for ICE CREAM & BROWNIES! UM...CAN WE SAY YUM!!! AND HOLY FOOD INTAKE!!!

    well...sunday morning we all went out for breakfast...a BIG BREAKFAST!!! you know the kind...pancakes, eggs, toast, home fries!!! shortly after that, we headed our separate ways back home. my mom, sis and i were driving together back to va.

    ok...back track to our drive up to nj on friday...my sister mentioned that she had seen a grilled cheese episode on throwdown with bobby flay. the restaurant featured, was somewhere around the philly/nj area and it had over 30 grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu. we chuckled a bit and wondered if it was anywhere close to our route.

    flash to sunday...we're probably only 30 minutes into our drive from the beach, (remember, we just finished a BIG BREAKFAST) when my mom asks if we're going to the grilled cheese place. a quick glance at each other, and i knew we had to google map it. omg...it was only 5 miles off the highway!!! we had to go!!! my sister (who is very very very health conscious) says to my mom and me (who are EATERS!!!), "are we even going to be hungry?" our response..."who needs to be hungry???" so...off we went...for one more edible indulgence...and oh man, was it ever! you'll have to stay posted for a future blog about the cheese we experienced!!! hungry or NOT, we each ate our own sandwich...without any problems!!!

    i'll leave you with this thought from good ol' maxine....

    "my body is a temple where junk food goes to worship"




     
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