Blowing Rock Trip, Continued...

So continuing from the last post, after naptime we headed to downtown Blowing Rock for some fun. We started off our afternoon at the park, where the boys had lots of fun swinging and Aiden enjoyed a fun climb on the rock wall!

One happy swinger

Another happy swinger

Our little rock climbing boy (with a little help from Grandpa!)

After we spent some time at the park, we headed through a couple shops and decided to get some ice cream. My mom got a chocolate ice cream cone so Aiden decided that's what he wanted too, while I ordered some fresh lemonade. Note to self: no more chocolate ice cream for the kiddos. It makes stains in shirts that are about impossible to get out, especially these cute new shirts (thankfully the shirts are clean after lots of hard work!). We headed outside with our snacks where Aiden made a big mess out of his melting ice cream, but it got even crazier when Andrew decided that he was hungry when he saw everyone else eating. He started fussing and fussing and fussing and didn't stop until we got home where I quickly fed him!

My dad had to go to a photography exhibit by a friend so my mom and I headed with the kids to the outlets for some shopping. We found the BEST deals at the Gymboree outlet-unheard of deals which will help complete next summer's wardrobe for the boys:) The shopping trip wore the boys out and they quickly went to bed once we got home.

Our last day in Blowing Rock, we decided to head to Grandfather Mountain. We started off our trip to this national park by visiting the nature center. Aiden loved seeing the animals there, especially as the bears were being fed. After we left the nature center, we drove up to the top of the mountain. It's crazy steep to get up the mountain, but there are awesome views:) At the top of Grandfather Mountain, there is a mile high swinging bride that you walk across. It's kind of creepy scary because it really does move around as you walk on it. But we survived and I am planning on doing it again another time!

Checking out the bears from Grandpa's shoulders

Getting ready to head on the bridge with MeMe

Grandfather Mountain, Be Careful!

Hang on tihgt!

It's really a mile high up:)

We spent our free moments at Grandpa's playing, playing, and playing. We had a great time and I enjoyed our first visit to his new house in Blowing Rock. Can't wait to go back again soon:)

Somebody loves John Deere!

Our little playing machine

Having some breakfast:)

Crazy, crazy hair!

Aiden and Andrew

I love these pictures that my dad took of the boys while we were in Blowing Rock!!!

We tried to enjoy a nice, peaceful walk around the lake but with two fussy, tired children-it was more of a brisk walk before any major meltdowns occured! Let's just say that we headed straight home for a quick lunch and naptime before enjoying the rest of the day! I will continue our vacation escapades in the next post:)

We are back!

We are back from a fabulous vacation and what a wonderful time we had!!!!!!! I have many many pictures to share, but not today for two reasons:)

1. Our camera is on the mend right now! We were playing putt-putt last week while we were at the beach and Chris was carrying the camera in a bag on a shoulder strap. He whipped around and the camera flew out. Even worse, it bounced across the ground, into a rushing rapid that led down into the fake, bright blue lagoon, and fell right in. You couldn't see the camera, thanks to the fact that the 18 inches of water were dyed a fake dark blue. After about five minutes of all of us searching, Chris spotted the camera and climbed in the lagoon to fish the camera out. (Let's just say that many people enjoyed this crazy moment!) Since that episode, the camera has been sitting in a bag of rice as we are trying to dry it out. I did get it to turn on yesterday, but the lens still is not clear so we will see if the camera works or not. Cross your fingers that it works because this is the longest that I have gone without taking pictures and I miss it!!! (If not, I think that Best Buy might be a must need shopping trip this weekend!!!!)

2. We arrived home after a LONG LONG day of traveling on Saturday. We left the beach after 7 am and finally made it home at 6:00 pm. The boys were wonderful travelerss-thanks to our awesome DVD player, lots of entertaining by myself, and a couple trips to McDonalds. But instead of coming home to an empty house, our house quickly turned into a zoo as we welcomed our guests: both of my parents, my sister Jen and her two kids, and Chris' brother, Nate. My dad was up in the Catskills for my great-uncle Floyd's funeral, my sister and her kids are in the process of moving and are staying at our house for a few days while she finishes teaching in the city, my mom is here to help with my sister's transition, and Nate was in the city for a work training and came out to see us finally meet his nephew, Andrew! 10 people in our 3 bedroom house-it was a zoo, but a fun zoo:):) So I spent today in a chaos of kids and full suitcases that still need to be unpacked with no time to upload pictures. Instead, I want to share a recipe that I used to make Nate for his birthday...these chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes were delicious! You MUST try these delicious treats that I found here:

Ingredients

• 24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)
• 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 package (1 pound) frozen cookie dough (see "the Cupcake Doctor says" below)
• Chocolate Buttercream (see below)
  

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Cut the frozen dough pieces in half to make 24 pieces. Place a frozen cookie dough piece on top of each cupcake. Place the pans in the oven.

3. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 23 to 27 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting. They may sink a bit in the center.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Buttercream.

5. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

The Cupcake Doctor says...

If you use the 18-ounce logs of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (instead of the 1-pound packages of frozen dough), cut them into 24 equal pieces and freeze them before using them in this recipe. It's important to use frozen dough, because you don't want it to bake completely and become a cookie. You want the center to be gooey when you bite into it.

Chocolate Buttercream

Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (2 1/2-inch size) generously
Preparation time: 10 minutes

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 3 to 5 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place the butter and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk if the frosting is too stiff.

Summer Adventures in Blowing Rock, NC

So we started our first trip for the summer bright and early Tuesday morning heading south to see my parents! Chris dropped me off on the airport with a suitcase, a carseat, two carry-ons, a stroller carrying Aiden, and Andrew in the Baby Bjorn-my hands were full!!!! We were hoping to do the curbside check-in but they weren't open so early therefore, I headed into the airport with my arms loaded! After we checked in and headed towards our gate, I realized that I forgot Aiden's backpack full of toys and treats for the airplane ride in the car. Oh No!

I survived my first experience flying solo with the boys, even with no toys to keep my 2 1/2 year old entertained. We had a layover in Charlotte but we kept busy by feeding Andrew, changing diapers, taking a potty break for Aiden, and taking in the sights of the airport. I would have to say that my boys did WONDERFUL on the airplane. I was a little nervous when we got on the plane and Aiden started whining that he wanted to see his MeMe over and over and over, but that quickly ended and the rest of the trip was pretty smooth sailing. Andrew was either sleeping or playing quietly with toys, while Aiden was occupied by playing games, watching out the window, and enjoying some lollipops! We finally arrived in Raleigh at noontime. After a quick lunch at ChikFilA, the boys (and me!) took a short nap while my mom had to finish working for the day. That evening, we headed over to my grandma's house for some pizza and Oreos. Our first night away from home was a DISASTER which ended up with Andrew sleeping with me and Aiden sleeping in MeMe's bed. Let's just say that a little boy decided he was scared and neither child would sleep-it makes one mommy want to pull her hair out. (Knock on wood, but every night since then has seemed to get a little better!)

Our adventure continued on Wednesday, when we headed to Grandpa's house in Blowing Rock, NC located in the mountains of North Carolina. After a long drive, we arrived at my dad's house and enjoyed relaxing and playing around for the rest of the night. There's nothing like lounging around when you are in the mountains:)

Yesterday, after a short morning nap for Andrew, we headed towards Roan Mountain to do some hiking. The wild rhododendron bushes were in bloom which made for a beautiful site. Thankfully, MeMe survived the hike (just barely, she says) and Aiden was lucky that Grandpa offered to carry him on his shoulders or he would probably still be trying to climb the mountain. After our long hike, we enjoyed a nice lunch including some fried asparagus and a trip to the general store for a new mail truck toy for Aiden and a John Deere shirt for Andrew, and finally collapsed at home for the rest of the evening.

Some pictures from our hiking adventure yesterday:

Enjoying the views!

MeMe and Aiden

Me and little Andrew

Enjoying the wild grass

Having so much fun at the top:)

Can you tell that I have my hands full?

The beautiful rhododendron bushes!

Now we are off to enjoy another day in the mountains!

Strawberry Picking

We enjoyed having Chris off for a few extra days last week!!! After his crazy work schedule in May, it was nice to spend some quality time with him and the boys. We enjoyed some free time around the house, but also tried to take the boys on some special outings with both of us! Some of the fun things that we did were heading to the pool, a fun dinner out to Mexican (which reminded Chris and I while we enjoy the simplicity of take out so much more!), a greek festival, and a nice morning of strawberry picking!

I know that Chris enjoys all my random ideas, especially strawberry picking in ninety degree heat!!!!!! (I didn't really think it was going to get so hot so soon)

Here's Andrew before we headed out the door in the morning:

Once we got there, Aiden was excited to see plenty of school buses there dropping off children on field trips:

While Andrew had his morning bottle, Daddy and Aiden took a tour of the animals at the farm. We saw peacocks, billy goats, horses, cows, rabbits, and chickens. Aiden's favorite was the horse!

Here are the boys before we headed out to pick strawberries:

All ready to drive a tractor:

And feeding the billy goats with a carrot Daddy found on the ground:

We thought that we were going to enjoy a nice, quiet hayride since it was the middle of the week. Instead, we somehow landed on the hayride that was entirely FULL of school children! It quickly reminded me of my teaching days and the headaches that came along with field trips:) Here's Andrew and I enjoying the hayride:

Once we got to the fields, we started picking:

And picking:

And picking! (And of course, we did some eating!!!!!). Chris and I picked as fast as we could because it was SO HOT in the fields and our little ones were starting to fuss. (This is when I realized that maybe this wasn't the best idea for the morning.)

As soon as we were done, we went to the line for the hayride and who do you think we rode with back? Oh yes, the 100 schoolchildren! Not only that, but the hayride was a scenic ride on the way home that lasted about 20 minutes! 20 minutes of HOT sunshine + 100 school children + 2 fussy children=2 parents ready to head home!!!!

Despite all the effort to get these strawberries, I am so thankful for some fresh, juicy, and delicious fruit! We have enjoyed them for snacks, with several dinners, and in a nice strawberry cake!

Happy 6 Months Andrew!

So we celebrated Andrew's 6 month birthday on May 28th! This post is a little late-Can you tell that my free time is getting less and less as he is becoming more mobile?????

Andrew had his 6 month appointment on Monday! He was not the happiest patient, especially when the shots came, but we survived and all is well:) He weighed in at 13 pounds, 10 ounces (1 ounce less then Aiden was at his 6 month appointment) and 26 inches (less than 1 inch taller than Aiden was at his 6 month appointment. Believe it or not, Andrew is in the 20th percentile for height but hovering the 1st/2nd percentile for weight:) I can't believe how close they are in height and weight. Our little boys keep their mommy busy because the doctor likes to see them more often for weight checks. We head back in 6 weeks to make sure he stays on the growth chart. (In other news, Aiden weighed in yesterday at 24 pounds at 2 1/2 which means that he is finally on the growth chart at the 3rd percentile!)

Watching Andrew, I am reminded of my feisty, active baby Aiden! Andrew moves, moves, moves, and moves:) He is most content laying on the floor and scooting after toys. Sometimes when you are holding him, he will cry until you put him down on the ground and then he is totally happy:) He gets up on all fours and I feel like he will be crawling in the next month, but we will see where life takes him. Andrew loves toys-he crawls after his toys, Andrew's toys, and anything that he can get his hands on. He also sits for several minutes at a time, although usually he will move himself to the scooting position because he is more content playing on his belly. He enjoys our walks around the neighborhood and gets to tag along to all the activities that we do with Aiden: going to the park, swimming at the pool, library storytime, running errands, and much more! His favorite things are playing with all of Aiden's toys (instead of baby toys), swinging at the park, his little lovey dog, and watching all the craziness in this household!

Andrew now eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner! His favorite foods are sweet potatoes, bananas, and pears. He has a HUGE distaste for peas and is not a big fan of carrots, but we keep trying more and more new things:) I am continuing to make most of our baby food, but I have to say that is lovely at times to quickly grab a store bought container and feed him when I have a hungry toddler and a hungry baby!

BIG news is that Andrew has started to take a bottle! We have been giving him one every day for the past week and usually will take it, but not consistently enough that I feel totally comfortable with it, but it at least allows me a little more freedom!!!!! We are working on the sippy cup slowly. He loves his water and often likes to play with his sippy cup after the mealtime is over!

Andrew usually sleeps pretty well which means that he is up once or twice a night to eat! I am SO looking forward to one day in his life when he sleeps all the way through, just to get ONE full night of rest!!! I just have to be patient though... He continues to nap well and I try SO hard to get these two rascals down pretty close together to give myself an hour or two break during the day:)

We have a BUSY month ahead with lots of traveling, but I am looking forward to introducing Andrew to the mountains, the ocean, and so much more! It's going to be a fun 7th month of life for this little guy:)

Brothers

So do you think they look alike or not?

Aiden at 6 months

Andrew at 6 months

I don't think so, but maybe it's the massive amount of hair that Andrew has! What do you think?

The BIG Apple:)

So the Ruff sisters took on a BRAVE adventure this weekend: 5 kids under 2 1/2 in NYC with just the three of us:):) It was fun, wild, and maybe a little crazy.

The adventure started on Friday when Jill and Jackson arrived at our house in the morning. We quickly loaded up the van and had Chris drop us off at my sister Jen's house in the Bronx. Her husband, Paul, was out of town so it was the three sisters and all five kids in their two bedroom apartment.

After a lunch of delicious cucumber sandwiches and a quick nap, we headed to a park near their house. Aiden and Jackson LOVED the wooden train at the park while Clementine ran all over the place. The baby boys, Andrew and Tal, hung out in the Baby Bjorns most of the time:) We fed the kids, watched a movie, and all crashed into bed.

I shared a room with the boys. We all started respectively in our own beds: Andrew in Tal's crib, Aiden in the pack and play, and I was on an air mattress. After Andrew woke up to feed in the middle of the night, I ended up sharing my fabulous air mattress with both boys! But they did better then I thought they would and we woke up feeling somewhat refreshed!!!

In the morning, we had some breakfast and prepped the kids for their big trip to the city. Aiden was SO excited to ride the subway train into the city-that's all that he could talk about. Before we left, we predicted the number of meltdowns each would have:) I predicted three and lo and behold, I should have guessed more because my kiddos had their share of wildness during the day!

But we enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Shake Shack, some shopping at Union Square, and some delicious Crumbs cupcakes before we headed back to the Bronx. As much as I would have loved to stay another day, we headed back to NJ before my boys entered major meltdown territory!

Thanks to Jen, Clem, Tal, Jill, and Jack for a wonderful weekend!!!!!

Tal and Andrew, the babies, with Aunt Jen

Clemmie loves to test out the baby things (Just like big brother Aiden does at our house!)

Aiden at the "train" park

Jack driving the choo-choo

Clem doing some sidewalk chalk

Cousins Jack and Aiden

My little Jersey Andrew!

Amidst the chaos, I am sad that I did not take ANY pictures while in Manhattan and I have NO pictures of the three kids this time. I guess we will have to do that next time...

My little cruisers:)

Andrew took his first ride in the Cozy Coupe:) (Don't worry, I held on to him the whole time as he rode around!!)

And thanks to G and G Rogers for this new school bus that arrived last week!!! Our little boy LOVES his new set of wheels!