Watch out for lions!

Or else you might end up looking like this...



Please ignore the peanut butter mouth. He was eating when I insisted I needed to take a picture RIGHT NOW! So, Keith and Henry were at the babysitter's on Thursday. Actually, they were with the babysitter but at someone else's house, but they were happy about that because the someone else had a big ole slide in the living room. You know, THOSE cool parents. So, Keith, being a five year old boy, decided that he had to go UP the slide the wrong way. Babysitter says 'you know Keith, that's not such a good idea,' Keith looks at her like 'yeah, well, I'm 5 and I'm invincible,' and proceeds to fall off the slide somehow, land in a closet (yeah, I don't know either), and damn near poke his eye out. So the babysitter called me, as I was pulling up to work. I, caring mother I am, ask if she'd take HER kid to the ER, she says no, I talk to Keith to try, unsuccessfully, to calm him down, and tell the babysitter I'll call Ed to get him. I did care, really!!!

So Friday, I take Keith to school. He gets in line, says hi to his teacher, and she says "KEITH!!! What happened to your face???" Keith's answer?



"I was attacked by a lion."



Said with a straight face even. Gotta love the imagination.

How did I forget?!? Henry's one!

Yes, Keith, make a little mark in that bad mother record book you're keeping. I forgot to post about Henry's birthday. I've already upset Keith because I didn't have a birthday party for Henry - you know I've scarred him for life, right?!? So, he had a birthday a week and a half ago. Just the family - me, Ed, Keith and Henry. Grandma and grandpa had work to do, and Adam, well, Adam probably wasn't up yet. So we had steak (you know, that's Henry's FAVORITE dinner, right?!?) and I made a chocolate cake. We all sang Happy Birthday, and Henry got to have his cake.

Boy, did he enjoy it...


Then it was present time. I learned my lesson with Keith - one year olds are not impressed by the number of presents. AT ALL. So Henry got three presents - one from me & Ed, one from Keith, and a pair of pjs since it's COLD now, especially in Henry's room.

Henry opened up the presents with a little help from the big brother....


The pjs weren't exactly a hit. Big surprise there. I guess pjs for your birthday is a gift right up there with underwear for Christmas. The caterpillar Ed and I gave him was an ok hit.


However, Keith's present was the favorite by far...


Now Henry can be just like mommy and talk on the phone ALL DAY LONG! He insists on taking it to Harrington's, even though there's a no cell phone rule there. Gotta love my little rule breaker!

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!!

So, after stuffing ourselves yesterday at the first annual make-Thanksgiving-dinner-and-then-pack-it-into-the-Sequoia-and-take-it-to-Adam's-house-because-Adam-wants-to-host-Thanksgiving-but-doesn't-cook Thanksgiving dinner, the Borrelli family was SO EXCITED that Santa was coming to town! Tonight was Kennett Square's Christmas parade, which is the start of the Christmas season here in Kennett. For the kids it means Santa is coming to town, for the grown ups it means FREE PARKING until Christmas. Such joy! So anyways, we went to the parade. It was pretty darn cold. According to my trusty weather doohickey, it's currently 33 degrees. Of course, it couldn't be the 60+ degrees it was yesterday, huh?? So, of course, we got ourselves bundled up...


Went and watched the parade (yes, it consists of tow trucks, fire trucks, and pickup trucks)...


And then got to go see the big man himself (and his 'old lady' as Ed put it... the Mrs.), SANTA CLAUS...


And yes, my son was the one who had to take the Walmart Toy Book to show Santa EXACTLY what he wanted...


I overheard Santa whisper to Mrs. Claus "My goodness, he has everything circled and he assured me it's all on sale!" Well, the boy is organized, I'll give him that much. So, be sure to check out Thursday's edition of The Kennett Paper, because Keith's picture will probably be in it as "the boy who gets down to business with Santa Claus"

Oh, and how could I forget... the most important part.... the candy cane coma!

T shirts

So, my mom got a catalog in the mail the other day with t shirts with random sayings. I love t shirts with random sayings, even though I don't wear them. However, my husband does, so it's really tempting to get him this one. If you know my husband, you'll see how appropriate that is. And, why not ask him to do the lollypop guild dance next time you see him?!?

Hot Feta Artichoke Dip

Yeah... it's good.


1 can (14oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
8oz crumbled Feta cheese
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
optional: 2oz diced pimentos, drained
(I just chop up some black olives. But, do whatever you want)


1. Mix all ingredients
2. Spoon into 9in. pie plate or 3cup shallow baking dish
3. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes


I TOLD you it was easy!

The Business of Being Born

So, the Rising Moon Birth Fund hosted a screening of The Business of Being Born last night. I think I would say it was a success. We sold approximately 100 tickets, raised over $1000 for the birth fund, and had a great time! The movie was wonderful (of course, I missed bits and pieces because Ed came with Henry and Henry wasn't really that into the movie... gee, I wonder why? ), the Q&A session afterwards was a good discussion, and, the best part....

WE GOT SOME MORE VOLUNTEERS!!!!!!!!!


WHOO HOO!!!!! I just love volunteers! We also got some information about a new movie called Pregnant in America, so I emailed them to find out something about screenings. Cross your fingers! I also hear that there's pictures floating around, at least I noticed a flash every once in a while. So if I get some, I'll post them!

Chicken Pox!

We have chicken pox! How exciting! So I picked Keith up from school on Friday (yeah, about a week ago) and he was complaining that his tummy hurt. Being the good mom that I am, I said "You're hungry, c'mon, we have to go to the babysitters." He often complains that his stomach hurts when he doesn't want to do something, so I figured it was one of those days. So Ed picked him up and the babysitter said he wasn't looking too hot. Dontcha know, he gets home, lays on the couch for a bit, then starts throwing up. So I promptly reschedule his birthday party which was supposed to be the next day to Sunday (11/4). So all of Friday night he's sick, then Saturday we notice a couple of spots on his tummy and back. Yeah. Monday I take him to the doctor (gotta get this stuff documented, you know!) and it's official, it's chicken pox. So we're quarantined at the moment. Well, we did go trick or treating last night to a few houses, but we didn't get too close. And besides, everyone around here is vaccinated. (insert evil laugh here). So that's the fun here lately. Now we wait to see if the Hen gets it too. Cross your fingers! Oh, and the quote of the disease? "Mom, why do these chickens keep biting me???"

Happy Birthday to Keith!

Or, we are NOT going to the emergency room today! Keith is now 5 years old, and of course there were some presents involved. He got the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie, some Cars games, some books, and Heelys. In case you don't know, Heelys are those shoes with the wheels in the heel (hence the name!) with which kids speed around the stores trying to run people over. I know you know what I'm talking about. Anyways, so he got a pair of Heelys. Put them on, inched along the counter, let go, and BOOM landed on his butt. But he laughed, so all is good. But, this was the first pair of shoes I have seen that had a WARNING sticker on the sole. A warning, which among other info, said "By peeling this sticker, you agree to waive the right to sue Heeling Sports Limited and their owners, directors, employees and/or representatives for any injury, death, property damage, or incidental or consequential damages arising from the use of this product." And like a good mother, I peeled the sticker. MY mother is going to kill me!

If I never see another white tag it'll be too soon...

So I spent the weekend at Nik's tagging other peoples clothes for our consignment sale next weekend. Wait, scratch that. I spent MOST of the weekend at Nik's, and the rest of it driving all over hell and back picking up donations and sale stuff. Well, to Philly, but it's a bit far and there was a Phillies game going on. So anyways. Tagging clothes. Millions of articles of clothes. And oh boy were there some interesting ones.... like this



and this



Yes, that's Nik and my husband dressed up in various finds. Notice there are no pictures of me!! Anyhoo. So, I had to get home because 1. it's my anniversary and 2. the Eagles are playing, and I don't miss my Eagles! So I left after Nik promised to come down tomorrow. Drove the hour home (the navigator was right this time!), walk in, give Ed a kiss, then turn around and see....



Yeah. To find out where it came from, read Nik's blog.

A picture for Nik

So I'm driving down the road today, taking the boys to the babysitters, and there in front of me is this

Look familiar?


Here's a few hints: Mushroom Festival. Sopranos. Back Alley.

Sorry the picture's so crappy, but I was driving and took it with my cell phone. You know, the cell phone that I can check my email on?!? Lucky I didn't wreck!

Are cribs really THAT yummy?

So Henry has found a new teether. His CRIB. The rails, to be exact. Now, I'm all about letting kids explore and all that jazz, but I'm going to have to draw the line at eating the crib. What if we have more kids?!? Where will they sleep?!? And besides, getting your child up from a nap and having to pull paint chips out of his mouth is just not cool. I'm sure my mother would call CPS if she knew. So I went to Amazon. Trusty old Amazon. And first I found this. I don't know about you, but the reviews mentioning crazy glue worried me a bit. I mean, isn't it, I don't know, TOXIC?? As in, DON'T USE NEAR CHILDREN AND PETS? Yeah. So I kept searching. And found this. Much better. You can even attach toys to it! Now, I'm taking bets as to how long it'll stay on the crib before Henry figures out that there's yummy paint chips under it. Or I break out the crazy glue.

Yum... coffee...

So Nik made me a cool little coffee cup holder thingymajig so I don't have to use those boring old cardboard ones anymore. Now I'm stylin' - see?

See, knowing that Kennett Square is the mushroom capital is good for something! So we've had our nutritiously sound breakfast this morning - I had my mocha, Keith had a blueberry muffin, and Henry had a bagel.

Which he dropped on the floor OH, about 500 times. But he says it was yummy!

Henry's girlfriend

Henry loves the brunettes. Especially Sophia. So Nik and Sophia came over today to watch the birds. Also known as the Eagles, for those of you who might be a bit confused. Granted, Nik isn't a big Eagles fan, so they really just came over to hang out and drink beer. Well, Nik had a beer, Soph didn't. Anyways, Henry was all dolled up to see his girl...

Took a nap, was in a good mood, and then she finally arrived. He was thrilled, I tell ya. Showed her how to use the walker...

Discussed the variations of coffee table legs...

And had to fend off his older brother from trying to put the moves on his gal...

All in all I think it was a successful visit. He got to see his girl, and didn't even poke her eyeballs out! We're making progress!!

Henry's shoes

Complete with pictures! Or, er, picture. Anyhoo, Nik made Henry the cutest pair of soft shoes. See? And, they fit! Excellent job on the sizing Nik! He currently only has one on, however, because he took a nap and somehow lost the other one in his crib. And, it's really funny to watch him try to walk on the hardwood floor with shoes on.

Mushrooms

So I was thinking about mushrooms, after reading Nik's blog the other day. And I googled "mushroom capital of the world" because *I* know that that would be good old home sweet home, Kennett Square. And this is what I found...

Historic Kennett Square
yeah.... like I said. Kennett Square.

America's "Capitals of the World"
A closer look at ten of America's most interesting (self-proclaimed) "capitals of the world," including not only the mushroom capital (you guessed it - Kennett Square), but also the cow chip throwing capital of the world (ummm... okay...), the sock capital of the world, and the bratwurst capital of the world, among others.

Some discussion board about, you guessed it, Kennett Square.


And then I found this.

The Mushroom Capital of the World
From the website: "Richmond is an ever-growing community located approximately 35 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri along Missouri highways 10, 210 and 13. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World due to the abundance of morel mushrooms in the area and the popularity of mushroom hunting. To learn more about the morel mushroom check out The Great Morel Home Page (which has a great links page). Richmond is also the county seat to Ray County, with a courthouse that provides the center for a true downtown square area. It has four front doors and no back doors. In fact, the town has two main streets, Main and North Main, that run parallel along the north and south sides of the courthouse."


So, they have morel mushrooms and a neato courthouse. And that makes them the Mushroom Capital?? They should utilize Google! And dangit, we have a PAINTED WATER TOWER

that proclaims for all to see "Kennett Square, the Mushroom Capital of the World." Do you think Richmond, Missouri has that painted on their courthouse?!? I think not. Hmpf.