Enjoying Spring

Thanks to Nana Marie we've discovered a cool park about ten minutes from us. There are so many things to do at this park, I can't imagine them getting sick of it anytime soon. It is a lot of fun! Natalie seems to be notably absent from the pictures but the truth is she is still very cautious of the swings, slides and pretty much any structure that slopes. I have to prod her to leave my side. Yesterday was the first time she willingly went on a swing. I'm sure by the end of summer she'll be a pro! Thank God for this warm weather.

picking flowers at home

Notice Hillary stepping on Rudy's leash as he's about to split...

maybe the next Cesar Millan?

Birthdays, Birthdays Everywhere

Happy 15th & 16th to cousin Cassidy and Kelsey. Everyone around here thinks you two are SUPER COOL! (God, where does the time go?)

&

Happy Birthday to Auntie Jodi and Papa Marty!

We love you guys!

I suppose a "Happy Birthday" is due to little miss Mall, even if it is almost an entire month late!

Happy 2nd birthday to the only little girl who keeps me on my toes and can win anyone over with her beautiful, smiling eyes.

We love you dolly!

Our New Friend

We have a new addition to the Maxwell family. A 7 week old Puggle named Rudy. And he is so cute! We picked him up yesterday and he has already met Emmitt, Olive and Piper (his doggy cousins.)
He sleeps a lot, loves to chase the kids around and loves any ball. The girls love him too! They've taken some time to warm up, but they actually pet him now and tell us that they love him.
And Rudy and I have already bonded. He slept in my arms throughout the night last night and he follows me around all over the house. Who knew that I could love a dog so much? But then again, who can resist this face?


Liz, if you're reading this, we have to get Swiss and Rudy together! Puggles day out!

2nd Annual Mother/Child Getaway 2008

(the crew - minus Reed)

1 house

3 days

5 moms

15 children

Who will make it out alive?

Wow, sounds like a great idea for a reality TV show. The name? Scandalous!

Long Overdue

I know, I know. Easter has come and gone and this post is long overdue. But I feel the need to post pictures before any future posts, so here they are.

Coloring Easter eggs...markers and stickers in our house (no dye anytime soon!)

Can you spot Jay's self portrait?

A snack fit for a bunny...chocolate milk, carrots and a freeze pop?

bunny tracks...

wardrobe change

Thanks for the dresses Auntie Liz...and our dolls match us too!

Egg Hunt 2008 with the Rich family

Nineteen grandchildren...160 eggs...pure chaos...and fun!

Mal Mal's birthday cake...just a tad early!

Next stop - Nana Marie and Papa Marty's house to do it all over again. Dinner, birthday cake, and egg hunt! Hopefully next year I won't forget the camera at Nana and Papa Rich's house. Bummer!

Right!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Boston You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine.
The West
The Midland
North Central
Philadelphia
The Northeast
The Inland North
The South
What'>http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have">What American accent do you have? Quiz'>http://www.gotoquiz.com/">Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Fast Forward 13 Years...

Tonight as I was driving home from the Shaughnessy's, Hillary asked me, "Mom, when I get my license can me and Natalie take turns borrowing your car?" She then proceeds to tell me that maybe Natalie will borrow Daddy's car and she can borrow mine, instead of sharing! Where does she come up with this stuff?

26 Questions
1. What was your first car? Refer to my "Random Facts" post.
2. Do you have any nicknames? My brothers call me all sorts of things...Jeano, beano, beanzo, jeanzo, and Jimmy's favorite - zib chib. Pretty weird. Oh and Katie calls me Jean Machine.
3. Have you ever been Scuba diving? Snorkeling, that was adventurous enough for me.
4. What's your least favorite color? I guess I would agree with Katie, maroon maybe. I don't really have a least favorite...or a favorite HA. I'm very strange.
5. would you ever go skydiving? No, I think there are plenty of ways to have an adrenaline rush without jumping out of a plane. I've always been somewhat scared of heights anyway.
6. What toothpaste do you use? Colgate.
7. What's the last movie you saw? Into the Wild I think. GREAT movie!
8. What do you want know about the future? It's funny, before I met Jay, I would wish I could see just a glimpse of my future. Who will I be married to? How many kids will I have? Where will we live? And, well, here we are!
9. Do you need to do laundry? I always need to do laundry.
10. Do you listen to the radio? Only talk radio. 680 AM baby. Howie, Rush, Tom Finneran, Reese, Michael Savage. That would probably surprise most people. I'm not the typical listener, I'm sure. I LOVE Howie! Although, I don't always agree with what he believes.
11. Where were you when 9/11 happened? If you know me, you know that I love the news. I watch Fox news every morning. They are so funny and I love VB (way back when he was part of the Howie Carr show!) Anyway, I was watching the news when the story broke. Erin was living back at home, so I woke her up. We watched for a while and then left to go to Border Books. What were we thinking? When we got into the parking lot, we sat and listened and decided to just head back home. The rest of the day was spent watching the news and calling my mother. She works just outside the city and I was crying (I've always been a bit of a cry baby) for her to come home. Such a scary time!
12. What color are your bed sheets? White jersey sheets. They really piss me off. Comfortable but they stretch out and look messy.
13. What's your ring tone? Always the standard, generic ring.
14. Do you have any obsessions right now? I'm on a little craft kick. I've also been trying to paint a few rooms in the house. Three rooms are half-painted!
15. Do you watch cartoons? Only when the kids have them on. I never liked cartoons, not even as a kid.
16. Do you like sushi? California rolls...do they count?
17. If your significant other was a super hero, what would his name be? Mr. Head-in-the-Clouds! In his defense, he is always super busy and his profession doesn't really allow mistakes (which must be stressful!) But he is in his own world, very forgetful! I have to remind him of things 5 times and he still forgets. I used to be annoyed. We just laugh about it now.
18. Do you enjoy sleeping late? I've always been a morning person. But I'm also a night person. As you can see, I get very little sleep. I do enjoy sleeping though.
19. Who tells the best jokes? I do not like jokes! I spend the entire joke thinking, "God, I hope I get the punchline." Only to be standing there with a blank look on my face, while everyone is laughing. They make me uncomfortable. My BIL Jay tells the most jokes. They are always funny to him.
20. Do you believe in karma? I hope so. I'd like to believe the people who piss me off every now and then are going to get theirs. But do they?
21. Do you like your eggs scrambled or sunny side up? Ugh, neither. Again, refer to my "Random Facts."
22. Do you collect anything? If you count shoes, then yes. Seriously, I wouldn't say "collect," but I have lots and lots of rosary beads. I LOVE them! They are all from certain occasions and trips.
23. Name a song you can dance to? I love to dance to anything...when I've had a few drinks.
24. Favorite concert you attended? I've been to a variety of concerts. All kinds of music. New Kids on the Block, Usher, Smashing Pumpkins, P Diddy, Kenny Rogers HA HA. My favorite was probably the Doodlebops concert that we brought the twins to last year. We had great seats and even Jay and I were dancing.
25. What is your favorite invention? TIVO/DVR. We used to have TIVO (which I prefer) but now we have DVR. Either way, it is awesome when all my shows are on during the kids bedtime. Never miss a thing!
26. What do you like better apples or oranges? Neither. I'm not much of a fruit person.

Outtakes