Wednesday, July 30

Yard Sale Fun

This past weekend we went down to visit Grandma & Grandpa to help with their yard sale. Jumpin' J had a great time playing with all of the items.

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He had so much fun that he got totally worn out and fell asleep on their couch!

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Ride The Wave

Jumpin' J's love of climbing on and off things has extended to the vacuum cleaner. It makes it a lot tougher to clean but it makes for great fun for J and a laugh for me! He also loves to turn it on and off, buttons are a blast too!!!

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Saturday, July 26

Mixed Tapes

This is a repost from my MySpace page but I just had to share here too!!

With all the rain this week I've been busting out old music to put on for Jumpin' J to experience. And in my mix of CDs are a few old MIXED TAPES. I know you all remember them. You made them for friends, for boy/girlfriends, for presents, or just because. They were the way to remember what you were doing at that time.

I found some from the early 90s and some from the late 90s and thought I'd share some of the highlights. I would like to thank Katy, Denise, Fruitcake, Hilary (who I lost touch with years ago), Chris (boyfriend from high school) and Jon Wilson (boyfriend from middle school) for these blasts from the past. Please excuse me if some of the titles aren't just right, the tape cases are long gone.

Jonathan's Sin City Sex Mix - Probably from 89-90
So. Central Rain
Immigrant Song
Stand - REM
Three Days
No Myth
It's the End of the World As We Know It
Brave New World

Christmas '91 from Hilary
Anything for You
Rock Wit'cha
From a Distance
I Wanna Sex You Up

Camp Mix - '92 (these were all taped off the radio!!)
Under the Bridge
Supercali
Baby Got Back
Warm it Up - Kriss Kross
Maria
Choice is Yours - Black Sheep

Summer Mix '93 from Katy
Women & Men
Particle Man
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Crockodial Rock
Jack & Diane
Half a World Away

This is My Music - Songs Interspersed with quotes - Probably 93-94
Corduroy
Undone
Purple Haze
F$% Me in the Brain
Someday Never Comes
Keep Your Mouth Off My Sisters
March of the Pigs
Betterman
Get Down Make Love

Jenn & Melissa Summer 98
Mo Money
Gone Til November
Margaritaville
Body Bumpin
Jungle Love
Million Dollars
Shorty
Kiss The Rain

Denise & Jenn Volume 1 - Late 90's
Boom Boom Boom
Tonight is the Night
Tootsie Roll
It Takes 2
Killing Me Softly
Macerana
Sexual Healing
Gotta Lick it - Work It - Boom Ba-na-na-na - don't know the name but those are the words!!

Denise & Jenn Volume 2 - Late 90's
Ladies Night
3 AM
That Girl
Tainted Love
Tubthumping
Insomnia
Heart of Glass
Foolish Games
Insomnia
Doin' It Well
The Titanic Song - you know which one I mean

Wednesday, July 23

Dress Up on a Rainy Day

Looks like Jumpin' J has some drama in him like his parents. It has been raining all day today so J was antsy when he woke up from his nap. He likes to play in the drawers in his room and pull everything out but today he wanted to put the things on.

First it was the hat that Cousin Hannah made him
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Then it was Daddy's old swimsuit coverup
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Then the two together with some flip flops for next year
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When he couldn't walk it we exchanged the flip flops for booties Arlene made
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But they were too slippery to walk in so we tried the full body bib from Pops
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And then fully garbed he decided to read a Christmas book.
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Jumpin' J and I were both laughing through the whole thing. It was really hilarious. Hopefully one day his girlfriends will appreciate the pictures as well. ;)

Monday, July 21

Blueberry Picking

After tasting some of the blueberries Auntie Donna picked for us the other day J's dad really wanted to go blueberry picking. Jumpin' J and his dad are both HUGE blueberry lovers so it sounded like a good idea. So yesterday we went in the afternoon to Nourse Farm in nearby Westborough to pick our hearts out.

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J picked some blueberries all by himself. And he loves putting things into buckets so he was a big help that if you handed him a blueberry he would put it into the bucket. Unless it looked good and then he popped it into his mouth. I think that Jumpin' J and his dad ate more blueberries than they picked. We all had a great time and picked about 9 lbs. of blueberries. We would definitely do it again.

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Then last night I made Grandma Susie's blueberry cake recipe and it came out excellent. I replaced the butter with Smart Balance Light and milk with rice milk so it would be something Jumpin' J could eat too. And it was a hit when I gave it to him today.

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Cool Dudes

Jumpin' J really adores sunglasses which he knows as Cool Dudes. I guess this started because when I would put them on him I would say "cool dude" but it has quickly morphed into their name. He doesn't really like it when I put them on him anymore, he likes to do it himself. He really is a very independent little bugger!!

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If anyone has leftover old sunglasses feel free to pass them on, even scratched ones are quite fun. He has a tendency to bend the sides back and snap them off so we are going through Cool Dudes quite quickly!

Bedpans Can Be Fun

Jumpin' J and I went down to Grammy and Grandpa's house on Friday afternoon. It was soooo hot there but J had a great time exploring while I packed up some stuff to bring back with us. Grammy even let him play with the bright orange bedpan that was in his dad's old bedroom. And J was loving it when Auntie Donna came to play with him and brought blueberries that she had picked, he LOVES blueberries.

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Hampton Beach Visit

Grandma Laurie was on vacation last week at Mike's Hampton beach house so Jumpin' J and I went up there to visit for a few days. J loves his Grandma Laurie and they went for long walks each morning so I could sleep in which I greatly appreciated. We only made it to the beach on Wednesday but that was OK because we kept busy. And J just loved that Mike's boys and their friends were in and out a lot since they were there surfing.

Unfortunately I am unable to find my camera so I don't have any pictures but you can see one on Riley's blog since Katy and Riley came to visit on Wednesday. If I can find my camera I'll post some pictures later. Thanks to Mike for letting us come stay we had a nice relaxing time!

Friday, July 18

Climbing Mt. Washington

Since Friday was so filled with activity at Storyland we decided to do something a little more low key on Saturday. So we went with Auntie Laura and Uncle BK to Mt. Washington and drove up it. There were places where I had to close my eyes so it was a good thing J's dad was driving. When we got to the top we walked around a while before the cloud cover really started to get bad. Then we stopped part of the way back down to have lunch. All in all it was a very nice day and was just enough excitement to feel like we did something.

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Story Land

Last weekend was the Annual MathWorks Outing! Jumpin' J's dad's company (where I used to work before J) takes all their employees plus families away to Mt. Washington for the weekend. It is really fun every year and it is pretty fun to reminisce about what wild parties used to happen back 7 years ago when we first went and everyone was still young and single.

Grandma Laurie's friend Laura won tickets to Storyland and she gave them to us because she wouldn't use them so Jumpin' J got his first taste of an amusement park and he LOVED it. I thought he might make it an hour or so but we were there for four hours! He had a blast and we will definitely do it again! Here are just a sampling of some of his favorite rides!

Obligatory Story Land Clown Pic
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Mini Slide J Could Go On Alone
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Little Miss Muffett's Spider, Would Have Sat Here All Day If He Could
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Riding the Teacups with Mom and Dad, Loved the Turtle Twirl Too
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The Loopy Lab Was Filled With Balls, J Was In Heaven
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Thursday, July 10

Out and About

Between getting stuff done around the house and hanging with the big boys three days this week Jumpin J and I have been really busy. Tonight is J's second swim class, I'll try to get a picture if I can. And then we're off to New Hampshire to Mt. Washington, Story Land, and points in between. Yes, you guessed it, the MathWorks annual outing is this weekend. J's dad is going to work from Grandma Laurie's house tomorrow morning and then we'll leave for Story Land! I'll be sure to bring the camera! See you all on Sunday!

Monday, July 7

Red Sox on the 4th of July

Jumpin' J, his dad, and I joined the LilyPad Family for a Red Sox-Yankees game on the 4th of July at Yankee Stadium. What can be more American to do on the 4th but to go to a baseball game?

Yankee Stadium is closing after this season and opening a new park right across the street so was awesome to get to sit right on field level in the outfield for J's first and last game in this stadium. Plus the seats are between the outfield and the visitor's warm up pitching area so we got to see everyone go by to pitch!!

Jumpin' J, his dad, and Uncle Mike in front of Babe Ruth's monument
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LP and her dad in line to see Monument Park - this was LP's first baseball game!
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Josh Beckett warming up just a few feet away from us!!
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Jumpin' J running around before the game started with Daddy's hat on
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A couple of Jumpin' J with his dad
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Yankees chat after Damon's big slam - happened almost right in front of us!
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Papelbon's going in - that's how close we were
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Kisses for Mommy
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Final Score 6-4 RED SOX WIN!!!!!
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Jumpin J had a great day!! Thanks to Uncle Mike for hooking him up with tickets!!
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Lemonade Coolatta

Jumpin J has been using a cup with a straw in it for quite a while now, he thinks he's such a big boy. And he loves to eat or drink what ever his dad or I are. These two came into combination this week when I was sitting on the lawn at the beach house with my lemonade Coolatta from Dunkin' Dounuts right next to me. J grabbed my drink and took a big swig. After his initial pucker at the sour taste he settled down to suck up a whole bunch. I really had to take a picture before I took the drink away from him....

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Sunday, July 6

Trip to the Ocean

Jumpin J', J's dad, and I went to visit the LilyPad Family at Pop Steve's beach house on Tuesday night. It was a great time, so great that we forgot the camera most of the time!

J with his dad before we went out to dinner on Thursday night.
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And here is J at dinner, what a big boy! I love this picture!!!

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Unfortunately J's dad got sick so he wasn't able to go to the beach with us on Thursday but here are a few pictures at the beach!

"Beached Whale"
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Crossing the Desert
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What is this Stuff Mommy?
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Diggin' with LP
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Swimming with Mommy
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LP Blowing Bubbles

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Our time at the beach was super fun despite the incident where I dropped the coffee pot and broke it, Sorry!!! Jumpin' J loved the beach and the park and generally just hanging out with LP, whom he thinks is just the coolest big girl he's ever met. Thanks to the LilyPad Family and Pop Steve for letting us come visit!!

I'll try to post about the Red Sox-Yankees game tonight or tomorrow!

Tuesday, July 1

Going to the Beach and a Red Sox Game

Tonight when Jumpin' J's dad gets home from work we're leaving to go to CT to the beach for a couple of days. We're staying at Pop Steve's house which he is kindly letting us invade. Pop Steve is one of our friend LilyPad Princess' grandpas. Here is a picture of PopSteve, Jumpin' J, and LilyPad Princess last July!

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Then on the Fourth of July we are going with LilyPad Princess and her mom and dad to a Red Sox vs. Yankees game at Yankee Stadium! It will be J's first and last game there since they are closing it at the end of this season and building a brand new park. We get great tickets when we go with the LilyPad Family so it should be a really fun game.

Have a great 4th everyone and we'll see you when we get back!