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!!!!

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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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FALLin' behind....

I know, it's a pretty lame play on words, but it's the truth! Once again, even though I promised myself not to, I have FALLen behind on my blog. Writing is something I enjoy so much and really should make more time for. My good friend Robyn started a blog about 1 1/2 years ago and promised herself she'd write every other day...and she is really good at sticking to that. She then published her blog into a book, based on an idea I had given her. I am hoping to do that too, so I really want to keep up with the writing.

We've had a lot of fun over the past 3 weeks (since my last entry)...and the boys have had a chance to spend time alone with me one weekend and Derek another. While I can't speak for Derek's weekend with the boys (they said it was great), I can tell you that mine was AWESOME! We had a full weekend and really had a lot of fun!

The weekend started off with a sleepover for Andrew and our next door neighbor Natalie. We had a pizza party, baked cookies, watched a movie, read lots of books....and they finally fell asleep around 11pm. Minus the fact that they were up at 5:45am, it was a successful sleepover!

baking cookies

sleepover time :)

6am...up and ready to roll!

Saturday morning, I took the boys to Picture People for professional pics. This is something I haven't done since Andrew turned one! I hate paying for them and sometimes they just turn out so bad, it's not worth the time, effort or money. However, I had received a coupon for 6 sheets of pics for $18 (normally it's $18/sheet), so I figured it would be worth it to head over there. WOW...was I right! The photographer was awesome and the pics are amazing!!! The pics were so good, that the salesperson talked me into joining their "Portrait Club"...so rather than spending the $18 I had planned, I walked out with my membership card and $58.75 less in my wallet!!! Hopefully we'll make it back there every few months and actually USE the membership benefits :)

From there, we headed to the Fire Station for their Open House. As always, the boys had a blast and walked away with balloons, fire hats and big smiles! Jacob was a little afraid of the men in uniform and wasn't willing to get too close to them or the trucks. Hence, why Andrew is the only one in those pics!

After the Fire House, we headed home for lunch and some much needed down time....we still had a full night ahead of us! Around 4pm, we headed out to Brambleton to a Fall Festival in my sister's neighborhood. Andrew absolutely SHOCKED me with his new found bravery! He hopped right on the rides...and even a PONY! It was his first pony ride EVER! I was so very proud of him! We had our fill of games/rides/etc. and headed back to my sister's for pizza. Then several of her neighbors came over...the kids played while the adults hung out...and then we had a sleepover there. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with my sister and we just LOVE the close friendship our children share. They are like brothers and sisters, more so than just cousins!

We left their house around 11am on Sunday, and headed straight to a birthday party at Kids In Motion. I've shared with you before how much we LOVE this place...and once again, the kids had a great time!

We came home after the party just in time to clean the house and pick up Derek at the metro.

I can honestly say that this was one of the BEST weekends I've had with the kids! We all had so much fun, despite the over scheduling that may have occurred on my part :)

Here are some other fun pics from events over the past few weeks...enjoy!

Celebrating Ari & Shirin's wedding at National Harbour

Leigh & Me with the beautiful bride, Shirin

Celebrating Lisa's Bridal Shower

Staci, Leigh & I with the "towel wedding cake"

Lisa showing off her ribbon hat

Me, mom and Leigh

So...there you have it...I am all caught up! Sorry for the long post, but it feels good to get it done...now, on to the next thing...laundry :)

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...not quite everything....

I know I said that would be my last post about the summer, but I couldn't skip posting about this FUN activity! Last Friday, we met friends at Kids N Motion. I was a bit nervous at first, because neither of my boys have ever loved these big bounce places....but...this place was AWESOME! First off, the gym time is split by age, so we went when it was a 6 and under time slot. It was really nice not to have to worry about big kids trampling our little ones. Second, they had plenty of toys other than the bounce equipment, which was great for Jacob, until he warmed up a bit. His favorite was definitely this roller coaster...which I might just have to buy him for Hanukkah!




Surprisingly so, Andrew jumped...or should I say BOUNCED...right in without any hesitation. WOW...how much he has changed in a year!

Lastly, the area is split in half, with only one half open at a time. So...just when the kids were getting bored (after about 45 minutes), they shuffle you into a second room, with all new toys and bounce equipment. It was SO much fun...for kids and adults too! The open session lasted 1 1/2 hours and then we took all the kids to Cici's Pizza for some much needed lunch.

All in all, it was a great day...and once again, I have Robyn to thank for planning such a fun outing!

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Check it off the list...

Two years ago, the kids and I (yes, you did the math right, Jacob was 6 weeks old and enjoyed the show from the sling!) joined my sis and her girls for a performance at Wolf Trap. In trying to prepare Andrew for our day, I told him many times we were going to see a puppet show with his cousins...when we got there, my sis informed me that indeed, it was not a puppet show, but some guy named Steve Songs. Somehow I had looked at the schedule wrong, and thought we were going to a puppet show...so much for preparation! Well...from that morning, we were hooked! We came home and downloaded music, searched for future performances and joined his fan club!

Last summer brought Steve Songs back to Wolf Trap...and we were once again in the audience! This time with nanny joining us :) After the show, Andrew and I decided that daddy would have really enjoyed it.

One of the activities on our list for this summer was to see Steve Songs and to bring daddy! It was a Marvelous Day filled with smiles, laughter, singing dancing...and of course, lots of heat & sweat!!! Those of you who are familiar with Wolf Trap's Theatre-in-the Woods, know it is HOT HOT HOT back there!!! Luckily, the threat of rain seemed to have kept some people at home, so at least we weren't packed in there, like we have been in previous years! We left with SS new CD and have already been jammin out to it!

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the boys of summer...

i can't believe how much i've neglected this blog...and i'm blaming it completely on FACEBOOK! now that everyone (well, not you mom!) is on FB, it seems they're all updated regularly...say every hour...on the doings of our lives, that i don't feel quite the need to blog as often. however...i'm back...because i've promised myself (and you, my loyal readers!) that i will keep at it!

since my last post, our summer has continued to be FUN FUN FUN...despite the raging heat we've experienced!!! all i know, is that i'm glad i'm not a child spending the summer at EKC right now, where there is NO A/C!!! although...come to think of it, i might trade the cool breeze of the A/C for one day on a boat on cheat lake, with the cool breeze of camp air blowing around! but, alas, back to reality....

in early june, we joined a group of friends at butler's orchard for strawberry picking. there ended up being 17 kids (under the age of 5)! jacob was a bit hesitant at first, but within minutes, was walking up and down the rows carrying our basket, for me to fill. andrew enjoyed it for about 30 minutes, until he decided it would be more fun to set up 4 baskets as bases and talk his buddies into playing imaginary baseball! that was around the time we all decided it was time to weigh the goods, pay and get outta there! our adventure was far from over though...we decided to have lunh at panera bread. mind you, it was "lunch hour" on a weekday and if you know anything about panera, it tends to be a hub for business people. need i remind you, while we'd lost a few people along the way, to other dining options, we were walking into panera as a group of 14 KIDS and 6 MOMS!!! we lucked out and actually found three tables to push together, accommodating all of us! it ended up being a GREAT day spent with GREAT people!

of course, we've been hitting the pool quite a bit too...especially these last couple weeks...with temps hitting 100 degrees! jacob seems to enjoy the water much more now and has started jumping in! andrew started swim lessons this week. as much as he loves the pool, there is something about lessons that he is against! i realized tonight, amidst the battle to get him to participate, that it might be that when he is in lessons, he has to give up a sense of control (which we know is hard for him)...someone else is telling him what to do and when to do it. don't think he's a big fan of that....hmmmm, sounds like someone i know! regardless, he is loving the pool, which to me is MAJOR progress from last year! i have a couple videos, but they aren't loading on the blog...will try again later!

happy hot days to all!

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having a ball...

andrew (well, i should say the whole banocy fam!) is ABSOLUTELY LOVIN' tball! here are some pics of the fun times we've all been having at the ballpark...

opening night - AWESOME pic with brendon (our next door neighbor/andrew's big bro)

red sox on opening night

jacob showing his tball skillz on the sidelines

central springfield little league pledge before game (yes, that's D...he's a coach!)

jman in shock over andrew's big hit!

catcher in action

trying to get in on the game...literally!

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