WeSnLaNi

Ravioli Bake

2009-11-05T20:11:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made a recipe from the Kraft Food and Family magazine. We all thought it was really good so I wanted to share it with you. It's easy to prepare and only takes about 45 minutes to bake. It's kind of like a lazy mans lasagna:) Next time I make this I might add a little sausage or ground turkey.

Ingredients:

1 jar Pasta sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
          1/2 cup water
          2 pkg. (1lb. each) of cheese ravioli
          2 cup Italian three cheese blend
          2 tbs. grated parmesan cheese

          Directions:
          Heat oven to 400 degrees

          Mix sauce, tomatoes and water. Spoon 1 cup onto bottom of 13x9 inch baking pan

Layer half the ravioli and 1 cup shredded cheese over sauce mixture. Top with remaining ravioli and     sauce mixture. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese and cover.

         Bake 30 minutes and uncover. Bake 15 minutes or until ravioli is tender and heated through. Sprinkle with parmesan. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Fall Festival and Halloween

2009-11-02T21:01:00.000-05:00

We spent Halloween morning and afternoon at Wesley's elementary school.They were having a Fall Festival and his (and Michael's) karate school did a demonstration. He was soooo excited to show some of his friends what he does at karate. Many think it's a lot of hi-ya's and wood chopping, but it's so much more then that! He and Michael demonstrated kata (forms), kumite (sparring), and kobudo (weapons). Matthew is another boy in Wesley's class who is a few years older then him. He is a great kid and Wesley really looks up to him!

Of course the highlight for Lani was seeing Wayne from Maine!! She just loves his music and we listen to his tape (yes....I said tape) in the van all. the. time. The good thing about having a tape player in the van is that we were able to get a new one for only $5:) YAY!!

We left the festival to go home and chill before trick or treating time. We went out right at 4 to avoid the rain that was coming! It was weird being out before dark, but well worth it since the rain started soon after we got back home.

Wesley was a masked ninja and Lani was beautiful Snow White. I even had to put make up on her since "all pwincesses wear makeup". LOL!! It was soooo warm:) We loved not having to put our costumes on over winter coats...haha! I was even hot at one point after hoofing it up a hill.

The kids both did great! Wesley was done before Lani so he and Michael headed home to hand out candy. My Aunt and I took Lani to a few more houses. She wanted to keep going, but we convinced her that Daddy needed help with the candy:) We ended the night with some yummy Chinese food and Guitar Hero.The wind and rain picked up and of course we lost power:( The kids started using play dough at the table. They made some beautiful sculptures by candle light. We all camped out in our bedroom and at some point during the night the power came back on! Glad it was a warm night so we didn't have to worry about the heat.

More photo sessions

2009-11-02T17:05:00.001-05:00

I put up several photos from photo sessions that I had in October. Head over to

Wendy Demers Photography to check them out and let me know what you think!

2009-10-28T17:19:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to do a little update and thought this photo of Lani was cute:) I did four photo sessions on Sunday and Lani joined me. Michael was able to get some over time and we couldn't pass that up. The shoot was at a park with an awesome playground so between that and using candy as a bribe she was an angel. What? I am not above bribing my kids, lol!! At one point she asked if I could take one of her. Of course I quickly obliged:)

I have been posting photos from my sessions on my Facebook Fan Page. If you are on Facebook please come over and become a fan!! I hope to start filling my schedule up this Fall since I am sure things will slow down this winter. I really don't have a place for indoor shoots right now unless it was for an infant. Doing these 6 "mini-sessions" were a lot of fun and great practice for me. Each one taught me something new and showed me what I needed to work on.

I have a lot of people inquire, but there hasn't been much follow through. I believe those darn Target coupons for $3.99 a sheet are killing me. I am VERY cheap compared to other photographers, but I can't beat that price. I spend hours with the client taking photos then spend hours personally editing each photo. Can't get that at Target!! Have a zit? No worries...photoshop is my BFF:)

My next step is to get a website going. I really have no idea what I am doing so I am saving up money to pay a fellow blogger to create one for me:) I love the other blogs she's worked on and can't wait until I can have my very own domain. WOO HOO!!

oopsy!

2009-10-22T20:47:00.003-04:00

This was an "oopsy" photo that turned out to be one of my favorites:) While taking photos of my friends daughters I was snapping some practice shots to make sure I had the lighting right. Was pleasantly surprised to find this on my memory card!! I want a bog ol' print of this for my house!! Just need to find the perfect frame first. I may need to get all creative and distress one myself?!? The other photos from that day will come soon!

What are you reading?

2009-10-22T14:23:00.003-04:00

I love to read!! Right now I am a little vampire obsessed thanks to Twilight:) I have books on my iPod Touch thanks to the Kindle application. It has to be my favorite application!! I love that I can read in bed with out disturbing Michael, while waiting for appointments, while waiting for Wesley to get out of school, and while on LONG car rides (when Lani's not hogging it anyway)! I thought it would be hard on the eyes, but I haven't had any problem with it!

Here is what I am reading right now:
Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
Harper Connelly Series by Charlaine Harris
Patricia Amble Series by Nicole Young
Midnight Breed Series by Lara Adrian
House of Night Series by PC Cast

Here are a few of my favorite authors. I read every book ever put out by them!!
James Patterson
Patricia Cornwell
Kathy Riechs
Elin Hilderbrand
Jodi Picoult
Nicholas Sparks
Joshilyn Jackson
Jennifer Chiaverini

Then there are the random authors that I read from my librarys "New Release" shelf. It's a great way to find new authors. I have a VERY small library so I use their "inter-library loan" option quite a bit!

Right now I am reading Raven Black by Ann Cleeves. It's okay! I am about 1/4 of the way through. It's going SLOW. I'll give it a few more chapters then I'll put it down. I don't waste my time on a book if I just can't get into it. There are way too many other good books out there:)

LOL!!

2009-10-21T20:40:00.002-04:00

When I check on Lani before turning in I find her in the craziest positions. Last night had to be my favorite. She received her American Girl "mazagine" in the mail and carried it around with her all day. Of course this included bed time!! The girl was soooo tired from her late night book reading marathon the night before so she just plain old passed out.

A Little Leaf Peeping

2009-10-20T20:55:00.002-04:00

Michael and I both had Columbus Day off so we ventured up North to do some Leaf Peeping! We went into the White Mountains. It's been MANY years since the colors have been this vibrant and beautiful.

Wendy Demers Photography

2009-10-01T08:25:00.002-04:00

I haven't written too much on here about my newest endeavor! I've started to get more serious about my photography business and have had a few photo shoots. I am super excited about next Saturday because I have a HUGE all day photo shoot with a local Mom's of Multiples group. It will be a great way to get my name out in the local community:) I already have someone ready to set up my website when I have the money available to pay her. That will happen after this photo shoot!!

I've put my name out there with friends and family for FREE sessions so I can build up my portfolio. I can only have so many photos of Lani:) Amazingly enough I haven't had too many biters. I can only hope it's because they are busy and not because they don't like my photos, lol!

Back in August a girl I worked with a few years back contacted me about taking photos of her 4 year old daughter. The session was amazing and I learned a lot about my strengths and what needed to be improved. I loved the photos and I believe they are an amazing addition to my portfolio! Here are a few of my favorites, but you can see the whole set here.

My pretty ballerina

2009-09-30T13:54:00.003-04:00

After going back and forth MANY times Michael and I decided to enroll Lani in dance! She is going to school directed by a girl I went to high school with:) The first class was hard, but I stayed in the studio with her and slowly moved away from her until I was sitting in the corner.

The next week she did MUCH better. I made sure to get there early so Lani would have more time to settle in. I was able to watch through the viewing window and take some photos. Every once in a while Lani would look up and give me a little wave. So sweet! I think they came out pretty cute considering I was taking them through a window:)

An awesome opportunity!

2009-09-29T21:28:00.002-04:00

As a blogger I am constantly being sent emails from companies asking me to review their products. I must delete about 98% of them since the products are nothing I would ever use or recommend to my readers and friends. However I am excited about some accent furniture that I was offered:) In a few weeks I should be receiving a "night stand" from CSNStores.com. I can't wait!!!

Another day at Odiorne State Park

2009-09-28T20:59:00.002-04:00

Odiorne State Park is one of our favorite seacoast destinations! Now that Wesley can ride his bike we headed over to ride on their nice paved bike trails. We even went into the woods to our secret beach. It's not really a secret, but we've called it that since Wesley was itty bitty:) He always thought it was so funny that we got to the ocean through the woods. Here are some photos of our day!! You will notice there are not many photos of Wesley...he's much too busy for photos:)

Boston, MA Ringling Brothers Circus Giveaway!

2009-09-25T12:07:00.003-04:00

Last year Michael and I took the kids down to Boston for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus. We won the tickets from another blogger who was giving away tickets on her blog from Mom Central.

This year, thanks to Mom Central and Feld Entertainment, I am able to offer you a special discount coupon code for the shows in Manchester, NH...Boston, MA...and Worcester, MA. The code is: "MOM" . You will get 4 tickets for $44 on weekdays or $4 off each ticket on weekends!

The most exciting part is I have FOUR tickets for the Boston (TD Garden) show on October 14th at 7pm! Just leave me a comment and you will be entered to win. I'll choose the winner on October 9th so you have plenty of time to make plans!! You will be able to pick up your tickets at the will call window with a photo ID!!

Be sure to leave me a valid email so I can contact you:)

Country Fair

2009-09-22T20:26:00.002-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend we went to the Hopkinton Fair. It's your typical country fair with lots of good food, animals, shows, and rides. My Aunt Carol came along with us and spoiled the kids with ride tickets. We normally don't get those since they are so dang pricey! Wesley had his first roller coaster ride and Lani went on the carousel about 5 times. It was the only ride she would go on! Of course we ate food that was horrible for us...lots of it:)

Mt. Cardigan

2009-09-18T08:27:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday we woke up to some beautiful weather and decided to go on a nice family hike. We invited our friends and neighbors to come along with us. Mt. Cardigan has a "kid friendly" side so we decided to drive up north to Canaan and check it out. Well, it was an awesome hike even though it kicked my ass! The last part was all rock and I wanted to die, lol. Jen and I sent everyone ahead of us so we could swear and pant in peace. Whatever gets you through, right? It was cold and windy at the top, but it was perfect! Makes me wish we had hiked more this Summer. Although I do love hiking in the Fall so you can see all the pretty colors.

2009-09-15T13:52:00.002-04:00

It seems that I have been putting this blog on the back burner! I think it's because of Facebook . I am always over there and anyone who actually cares about this blog is a friend, lol! Sorry to any of my family who actually reads this which is probably only my Aunt Carol...Hey!!

My life is extremely busy with an infant now in my child care brood and with the start of school. We have karate, soccer, dance, kabudo, band, and homework. I hope to get some photos updated to Flickr so I can post what we've been up to:)

Allergy update!

2009-09-03T20:19:00.002-04:00

I took Lani into see her allergist today. We had an appointment to review the beef and milk RAST test results. She also had to get a scratch test for her egg allergy.

First...the good news! Lani's egg allergy is NO MORE:) The scratch test came out negative...woo hoo!

Now for the bad news:( The RAST test showed that Lani's milk AND beef allergies had worsened!! I couldn't believe it! I truly thought they would have been better if not just staying the same. Even the doctor was shocked at how high the levels were compared to 2008.

Here is a comparison:

In 2008 her milk was 3.77 and today it was 13.40
In 2008 her beef was 3.24 and today it was 9.34

If you click on the RAST link above you can see a chart that shows what class these are. Right now there is no change in her care. We will continue to avoid these foods at all times. We also need to be better about having an epi pen and Benadryl on us at ALL TIMES! Next year Lani will have another RAST test for beef and milk to see how the numbers have changed. Dr. Jarmoc hopes that Lani has hit a high this year and can only go down from there. There really is no explanation as to why her levels went up so much this past year:(

I can only pray that things are better before she starts school! I really don't think I can handle sending her to school with these allergies. I will just lose my mind!!

My Fourth Grader

2009-09-01T08:08:00.002-04:00

As of 7:00 this morning I officially became the Mom to a 4th grader! WOW! This is going to be such a big year for Wesley and he is going to be keeping us busy:) Something feels so different about this year. Wesley is showing so much more confidence in himself, becoming so much more independent, and really testing those limits! It will be interesting to see what challenges face Michael and I as parents this year!!

AC/DC

2009-08-24T22:05:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I never posted about Wesley and Michael's AC/DC concert! At the end of July they finally made it to the show down in Foxboro, MA. To say the Wesley was excited would be an understatement. Just look at this face!!

The trip down was a long one with many calls from Michael about how much he hates Massachusetts and the bleeping traffic, lol. They finally made it and Wesley was fully immersed into the rock concert experience. There were people smoking pot right behind them. Luckily he has no idea what that is. In front of them were people totally drunk and starting fights. HAHA! So glad that he knows what things he should and shouldn't be copying. Especially the cuss words coming out of everyone's mouths. Michael also said that all the older guys were making a big deal out of Wesley being there with fist bumps. That just cracks me up:) AC/DC fans are hardcore!!

Michael spent a whole lot of money on a t-shirt for Wesley. This was a very expensive birthday present and I hope Wesley appreciates it, lol!! They are already planning their next concert together. Hopefully it's one I can go to:)

Colorado....Mt. Evans

2009-08-23T18:53:00.002-04:00

One day we drove up Mt. Evans in our teeny tiny rental. Going up the side of a mountain in the middle of the Rockies was sooooo terrifying and sooooo beautiful at the same time. I am not too fond of heights and you know, looking over the side of 14,000 foot mountains. My photos came out nice, but there was no way to capture the beauty on my camera. I wish I could just bring you all to the top with me just for a few moments!!

Here are the kids at the top.

Us low landers had to get used to the high altitude. The air was very thin and we all had to take it slow. Wesley did end up suffering from altitude sickness towards the end of our time at the top. He became sick to his stomach and his head started to hurt. I felt so bad for him:( I made sure to get lots of photos before heading back down the mountain.

On the way up we stopped at 'Summit Pond'. Wesley was amazed that there was still ice on it, lol! Brrrr!!

A Colorado post interruption!

2009-08-17T07:54:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I am STILL posting about Colorado! We had such a great time and I definitely want to post about it all. I need to interrupt for some fabulous breaking news here in our household!!

WESLEY HAS LEARNED TO RIDE HIS BIKE!!!!

Last Summer we bought Wesley a bike and started the process of teaching him. You know, Michael holding the bike and running after him. It always ended in Wesley crying in frustration. After a couple days he wouldn't get back on the bike so back it went into the garage. Here is a photo from last Summer's lesson.

This Summer we tried again and the same thing happened. It took some serious bribing to even get him ON the dang thing. We tried much harder this year since we knew once he learned we would never get him off. Once again there were a lot of tears and frustration, but I wasn't giving up. He's 9 years old for goodness sakes!! We decided to take him down the the elementary school in the wide open, paved parking lot. So glad we did that because he INSTANTLY took off.

Of course he fell a few times, smashed his shin on his pedal while learning to use his breaks, but by the end of the "lesson" he was cruising around the school. Although he wanted to keep riding his body was telling him to STOP. The boy was falling more and more so we packed up and headed home. The next day he was riding like a champ on our road.

He is now officially obsessed with bike riding and we've been going on lots of family bike rides. My butt is SORE, but it's been a great workout for me!!

Colorado....Royal Gorge

2009-08-15T17:02:00.003-04:00

We spent a whole day in Royal Gorge! There was a ton to do there and it took up a whole day:) The first thing we did was go for a ride on the carousel. I took Lani on since spinning around like that makes Michael sick to his stomach.Lani was pretty sad that the ride was ending. Luckily we had unlimited rides with our admission:)

After a quick lunch we went out and explored the bridge, and explored the view.

Of course my crazy ass husband had to ride on the "Sky Coaster"! Wesley couldn't even watch him go.

The Bridge from the tram that went across the gorge.

The Arkansas river with the train track running beside it.

Lani's 3yo photo shoot

2009-08-09T21:28:00.003-04:00

Lani turned 3 at the end of June, but I never took her 3 year old photos. It was just too busy with our Colorado vacation. I finally had time last night to head into town and take some while the boys went to see GI Joe. Our first stop was downtown where I was about to get a few photos. We also went to Rollins Park in Concord which was the perfect place! The sun was just right and created some prime photo opportunities.

I'm working hard on getting my photography website set up! I have no idea what I am doing so I may have to break down and hire someone.

Colorado...St. Elmo Road Trip

2009-08-09T19:49:00.003-04:00

One day that Sheila had off from work she took us out to a "ghost town" named St. Elmo!! The drive was long, but we enjoyed seeing more of Colorado's landscape along the way. The small town of St. Elmo didn't disappoint either. It was fun peeking into the windows of the old houses and imagining how life was back in the days of mining. Some of the houses are being renovated into museums and I think there are actually people living in a few of the others.

The kids loved the little chipmunks that came right up to eat sunflower seeds out of their hands.

Along the way we made a few stops for some shots of the beautiful scenery!!

Colorado...Part Three

2009-08-04T21:11:00.004-04:00

One of our days in Colorado was spent at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with Sheila and her boys. How lucky that she was able to take a few days off to be our personal tour guide:) This zoo was amazing and I loved how it was set right in the side of a mountain. It made for some long ass walks up hill, but the zoo was gracious enough to put in an elevator in some parts.

On the way we had to wait a bit for Sheila so I stopped to snap some photos of the view and Pikes Peak in the background.

Now for some zoo photos:)