Tomato Time!

Well, it was that time of year. Time for the 10+ bushels of tomatoes from a farm in New Jersey. Time for the countless hours cutting, cooking, straining and jarring. (it usually goes about 10 hours from start to cleanup) But, a year's worth of homemade gravy (that's "sauce" for the Italian-impaired) is so, so worth it!

2 basil leaves are added to each jar for seasoning. The kids were proud that we had more than enough basil from our own garden to put in each and every jar.
We even picked enough plum tomatoes to yield 2 jars of our own! We are lucky enough that we still have peppers, eggplant and tomatoes still growing. It is supposed to get a bit cooler in the upcoming weeks. But, all of the fresh (and pesticide-free!) vegetables were wonderful all summer long!

I did not have an official job during the whole tomato process other than trying to keep the kids occupied and away from the hot surfaces. My husband and mom cut the tomatoes
while dad cooked them.
















Mom and dad strained twice









before putting back on the stove one last time to get hot enough for jarring.
















Mom and dad also sealed. I think there were blisters to prove it!

Happy Birthday Kiddo #2!!!

On August 25, our kiddo #2 turned 9. Happy, Happy Birthday! Our little genius had a very rough entry into life with shoulder dystocia and a long, hard labor. The poor pumpkin looked like he endured several rounds with a professional boxer. He tipped the scales at 10 pounds, 12 1/4 ounces! :-)

He is a sweet, sensitive,very independent kid, who loves to "teach" the basics to his younger siblings. He sometimes has more patience with them than I do! :-) Kiddo #2 has always had a voracious appetite for anything mathematical or related to the computer and has always loved to read, having taught himself around 2 years of age.

Kiddo #2 got to celebrate three times! Of course, he got to celebrate with us on his actual day,(you can see his little sister, big brother and Nan in the background),









he had a party at a local arcade retailer with all of his friends









and then he had a family party complete with his Nan's homemade cooking.
It was a very celebratory week.









And, to top it all off, he got his wish from Mommy and Daddy- tickets to an Eagles game, which happened to be 3 days after his birthday. He decided to take his daddy and Uncle Bill with him and they had a super time.


Happy Birthday sweet pea! We love you!

Better Late than Never- Ocean City vacation pics!

We spent a wonderful week from August 16-23 in Ocean City, New Jersey. For the first time in all of the years that I can remember, we had a perfect weather week! We could not have asked for better. I still remember the week that we had rain for 6 out of the 7 days! :-)

The kids had a blast playing on the beach, swimming in the pool
and going on all of the amusement rides on 2 different piers. Of course, squeezing in ice cream for dessert almost every night on the boardwalk wasn't a problem! For Mommy, it was funnel cake! (my once a year shore-time vice!)

We flew kites, played miniature golf and Kiddo #1 went with his dad to the air show in Atlantic City to see the Thunderbirds, which thrilled him! There are always visits to the arcade to play games and win small trinkets, which thank goodness, this year included something a bit more practical- soft rubber balls, which the kids still find entertaining

So, it was a fun-filled, activity-packed week which we really enjoyed. Much thanks to Nan and Pop-Pop (my parents) who rented the condo. We are very grateful.