The Orange Horse

As crazy as a 4 year old getting an allowance sounds, Aiden has been getting one for about a month now. This is a way to encourage him to do simple things around the house like put his toys away, clearing his dishes and making his bed. It's also an attempt to make my life a little easier, as things like be nice to Abby, don't wine and listen to mom are all also on the chart. It also means that he doesn't bug me to buy a new car every time we go to Walmart because he knows he can save his own money. He's also learning what the worth of a penny, a nickel, a dime and a quarter are and how much he needs to by a car (of the hot wheels variety of course). One day we pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store near our house to turn around. I had previously taken him there (only once, a couple months ago) to get him a treat. He instantly said, "why are we at the treat store?" We explained to him we were just turning around, but a whole conversation about treat stores had begun. John told him that he used to love going to the treat store when he was little and suggested that he and Aiden go to that store some time and he could use some of his money to buy a treat. Then I told him that when I was a little girl, I would walk to a treat store close to my house and that the store was called the Red Rooster. He didn't even stop to think, he just said, "I think the treat store we go to is called the Orange Horse. John and I just looked at each other and started to laugh. So now the convenience store down the street (actually Jenny's Market) is now refered to as "The Orange Horse". John and Aiden did take a walk to the store this past Sat. and Aiden bought a big long roll of candies and upon leaving the store announced, "when we get home I will share these with everbody!" I love that kid!
Here he is holding his chore chart, money value chart, and new car bank that he got from his friend Boston for his Birthday (he even got to paint and decorate it himself!).

Dreaming of Birthdays

Aiden has been greatly anticipating his birthday since Abby's birthday in May. He knew his birthday wasn't until after we moved to Boston, so ever since we got here he's been asking if he's 4 yet. So the 17th rolled around and he knew his birthday was the next day. That evening we were in the car, driving to pick up John from the subway station and he was being unusually quiet and to be completely honest it was kind of nice so I decided not to question him. Then, suddenly he spoke, "I think when I go to sleep tonight that I will dream about my birthday, cause I think that's what happens when someone has a birthday." I'm glad he started to talk again, because it was so cute. He was obviously thinking very intensely about this idea. The next day arrived and he was very excited to be 4. We went to the dollar store to get some paper plates etc. for his party that was to be on Sat. He saw the party hats and asked if he could have some, so off and on for the rest of the day, he and Abby wandered around the house wearing these hats. Here he is talking to Auntie Jen on the phone. And Abby, with Aiden very excited in the background.
Later that night he was able to stay up late so he could talk to Grandma, he opened a few gifts and we had cupcakes, as the cake was being prepared for Saturday's party. Here is a video clip of him with his tiny cupcake.

And playing with the ferry boat that he got from Grandma and Grandpa.

Here he is blowing out the candles on his real cake.

Now, about the cake. Aiden had requested several times that he have a chocolate cake with a road on it (as he is obsessed with cars). He loves the old school micro machines that his Grandma gave him so I decided to get some more from ebay to put on the cake. Wanting to attempt fondant, I got online to find out how to make it and came across a recipe for marshmallow fondant. It was pretty simple to make and use. I was pretty proud of the outcome, it's not perfect but I worked hard on it and most importantly Aiden was happy with it. I even made some piranha plants (from Mario cart, Aiden calls them "eating guys" and he gets very excited every time he passes them in the game).

What keeps us busy

Very far from family and all things familiar to us, so what keeps us occupied? Let's start with John. As expected much of his time spent at home is taken up by studying.
Of course there is always time for video games with Aiden, pillow fights with the kids and watching a little Iron Chef with Tamsen, but the latest distraction is an old addiction. He is back in the world of salt water aquariums. A break from studying often consists of browsing the forums and working on putting together this small nano 6 gallon aquarium. So far it houses only salt water and live rocks but there are plans for a small anemone, a pair of clown fish and some corals.












As for Tamsen, she decided to take up knitting. John says it's an old granny thing to do, but determined to learn she headed out and bought some knitting needles and some yarn, got on line and started learning. She found a pattern for a very cute little toque online and even though it was probably not the easiest project to start with, with a little trial and error this is the finished project.
Tamsen has also always loved making her house look like a home and right now in order to achieve that, we need some things on our walls. While visiting her brother and sister inlaw before moving she saw a very cool piece of art work on the wall. It was a bunch of beach rocks carefully placed on some cardstock forming the shape of a square. It had been made for them by a friend of theirs. Tamsen borrowed the idea and ran with it. She obsessively collected rocks, shells and sand from Massachusetts beaches and this is the outcome.
Aiden would play Mario cart all day if we let him, but we don't. So he can often be found playing with cars, reading, colouring and playing with Abby (sometimes playing, sometimes bossing her around). Since the kids also need some art work on their wall, Tamsen decided he should paint a picture. Thinking that he would just quickly spread some paint on the canvas Tamsen provided a few colours of paint and a variety of brushes. It ended up taking him two days to very carefuly cover his canvas, and we all think the outcome is great.
Last but not least, what does Abby do? Well, she spends most of her day getting into things she shouldn't or tormenting her brother. We must say though that she is extremely cute, keeps us laughing and can be very sweet. Last week she found her swimsuit and decided she wanted it on so she brought it to mom, handed it to her saying "uh, uh, uh" (good thing mom can understand her). So here she is running aroud (with the swimsuit over her pj's) giving us a fashion show.
And here is a very cute picture of her just hanging out with a shark.

Labour Day Clam Haul

We decided to take a little family trip to Cape Cod on Labour day to catch a few clams. This is not the easiest activity with two small children but we were determined to get ourselves at least a few of the delicious little morsels. With one stop on our way down for a clam rake (basically a metal basket with claws on a stick) we were on the beach in time for low tide and began our little hunt. We were digging for quahaugs (pronounced cohog), which you have to wade in water up to about 2 feet to get. Surprisingly the water is quite warm and not an unpleasant experience. So here we are, a little family, John with his clam rake, Tamsen carrying Abby, and Aiden waist deep in water carrying his bucket. The way the clam rake works is by dragging it along the sand and when you pull it up the sand falls through the basket and all that remains is clams (or rocks). The other way you can find them is by just walking along the sand slowly and feel with your bare feet until you come across a hard spot, at which point you just reach into the sand and pull out the clam. Tamsen became a pro at this, even with a baby on her hip. Every few seconds Aiden was heard declaring "Mom I found another clam." By the end of our excursion his bucket was full of empty clam shells, and he wanted to take them all home. Soon the kids tired of this activity and we were forced to quit, but we did have some success, including a few oysters and these two very large clams: