The Stevenson Story

Yesterday I dressed Avey in this cute outfit. (Thanks mom!) It was darling. So of course, I had to take some pictures. Then Eric took a few... And then Jack wanted in on the "hat" fun. (That is in deed a swim diaper) (He climbed in the stroller, toppled the other way and scraped his nose in case you were wondering.) And one more of Jack helping us dust the house in style. (I turned around and saw this- he had gotten the duster and put on the glasses all by himself.)

-posted by Eric- As a substitute I have seen a lot of different angles by which the youth of America are educated. I am constantly wondering about the best methods to get a class under control and get them to actually learn something meaningful. I'm sure we can all think back at our past subs and the **ahem** respect we showed them throughout the years. So there I was subbing for a P.E. teacher at an elementary school (which apparently, if you say the word P.E. to a second-grader they give you a blank stare, the correct word is "gym") ready to flip the paradigm of the young people of America and how they view Physical Education. And this is what I walked in to. Apparently the school was an old set for the movie Saw VIII and this is where they kept all the dead bodies. This place was really spooky. I couldn't imagine how anyone could get a proper physical education here. But at least the teachers office was a state-of-the-art coaching HQ... Wow. Seriously though, I und...

I know Tuna is good for you, and great to have in your food storage. However, I only know really two recipes with it. Tuna noodle casserole and open faced cheese and tuna sandwiches. Really exciting I know. Yesterday I had to use up a whole bunch of potatoes, so I made mashed potatoes- and then I wanted to make tuna be my main meat item- but tuna noodle casserole and sandwiches don't go great with mashed potatoes. I thought, I have heard of tuna steaks before- maybe I can make those. Come to find out tuna steaks are an actual meat you purchase at the store. But in learning about those I saw a recipe for tuna patties and decided to try them. They were super crazy easy to make and... They tasted fantastic! Eric gave it two thumbs up and said I could make them whenever I wanted. It definitely added a fresh taste to the standard tuna dish. And they worked great with mashed potatoes. Love those spontaneous winners. Do you have a tuna dish you love? I would love more recipes.

We figured out how to post movies from Eric's iphone to our blog last week, so we should have more movies rolling out here in the future. And we are getting the cable to our real camcorder soon so then it will have power and I can take even better quality videos than the iphone ones. I know you're all really excited. Well, at least I know the grandparents are! We'll call this video Jack in the kitchen, and then in his room. Springfield is cool. Can I just say that outloud? I guess if you are going to not have any money to do anything, Springfield is the place to do it in what with all the free library storytimes, and museums to go to, and a sandbox at the mall they bring in every winter. Yes. It's true. They call it summer in February, and I think it's a grand idea. Jack went twice last week, and will go twice again this week. Avey was talking to me one morning so I told Eric to grab his iphone and I could let the rest of you enjoy her. But of course whene...

Our usual Valentines day tradition is for Eric to make me a gourmet dinner. I pretty much love it. And this year with Valentines day being on a Sunday this worked out even better. This year he tried to recreate our 4 cheese pansotti dish from Olive Garden. It was definitely delicious, but not the same as the Olive Garden. He made the ravioli FROM SCRATCH- I know impressive impressive. That's my man.

So here is a much awaited video for the grandparents- hopefully you can hear and see it. (Our cute little ADHD child that can only sit still for 10 seconds.) Here are some other pictures too from our quick NY trip (24 hours) we took to see our friend Dave who flew in to do some training this week. I think we just need to accept the fact that it doesn't take 2 1/2 hours to get to NY for us, it takes usually 4 or 4 1/2 because of traffic- and to get in the city it takes another long time, and like $30 after all the toll roads. Being a west coster this is a different thing for me, and it will take a little paradigm shift- but other than that it was great. (Sorry Derek and Jamie- we'll totally see you next time and plan it much better!) Hot tub that was mildly warm which is why Jack is with us. (And I'm not pregnant anymore! Hooray!) It's cold o.k. Looking out Dave's hotel window on the 23rd floor. Tote a baby Sooooo cold. That is a bitter wind blowing on us.......

Doing laundry in the basement Jack in the elmo towel he wears every morning now. She is such a smiler and a talker- it's pretty much my favorite thing these days. Gotta love the morning snuggle You can see how similar Jack and Avey look in this picture Music section of the children's museum in Westfield- love the library free museum passes! More children's museum fun in a space shuttle! Avey doing tummy time with her brother "helping"