Shaz by the Sea

My sister Chrissy had another blog post suggestion! She noticed that we do a lot of non-toy activities in our home - trying to reinforce creativity and using their imagination. I must say, going from age 2/early 3 to now 4, it is amazing to see how much their imaginations have grown. The biggest change is that Conor and Caden went from the "parallel play" to really playing together and coming up with some creative things - remember the "baby tomato" photography blog post?? Hahaha.... So with it being winter, I thought it would be nice to share some of our non-toy ideas. First, and probably my favorite: Pipe-cleaners, or one-sided Q-tips in a strainer! Who can forget shaving cream fun?! For Caden's 100th day school project, we glued together 100 popsicle sticks! I thought it was going to be WAY bigger! Haha I often let them play with water - and I add food coloring and let them mix it around. The toss in some toys and boats sometime...

It's my last week alone with Cal. So what better way to spend it than staying at home, enjoying his company, and baking some delicious sweets together?  He just LOVES camera flashes. ;) There are few things that my Dad can't get enough of -- I would say Conor/Caden/Cal, scratch tickets, and Vegas. But there is ONE more thing that my Dad is obsessed with, and that is his Aunt Frances' amazing marble squares. We went over to visit sometime last year with Conor and Caden, and she was nice enough to give me a copy of the recipe. Now it's probably something about the 1 cup of shortening that's the dead giveaway - but these are to die for. And they're relatively simple to make. Dry Ingredients: 2 Cups + 4 Tbsps Flour 1 Tsp Salt 1 Tsp Baking Soda Wet Ingredients: 1 Cup Shortening/1.2 Sticks Butter (I did not use all that is pictured below) 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar 3/4 Cup Sugar 2 Eggs 1/2 Tsp Water 1 Tsp Vanilla 12oz Package Chocolate Chips Preheat yo...

This post is dedicated to Grampa aka my dad.  Ever since I was little, my dad has always been the fun, outgoing, family jokester that everyone gets a kick out of. Growing up, he never missed a sporting event of Chrissy's or mine, or my dance recitals, or any other important life events. Even though he worked a lot when Chrissy and I were growing up (I give a  LOT  of credit to my mom), he still made it to the prom before pics, birthday celebrations, and most family holidays. Since we live nearby now, my Dad is taking full advantage of the fun day-to-day stuff and Conor and Caden love it. They love love love all their Grandparents. Not only does my Dad play and have fun with C-Squared all the time, but he also has offered to come over while they're sleeping so Jim and I can go out for a date night. He constantly offers to do that, happily and without any reservations. And it's soooo appreciated. What parents of two one-year olds  DON'T  need or w...