Working five days a week this year is tough, tough on the little guy getting up early and tough on his Momma not being able to spend a lot of time with him during the week. Luckily we are able to play a little after dinner and lately Tuck has been a really funny little guy!



One night we came home and Tuck wanted to put on my sunglasses adn Jay's hat. I'm not sure why but he insisted on keeping them on and walking around the kitchen while we were cooking dinner. It was so cute!

Then last night on our way back from Cindy's, we saw the neighbors playing in a huge pile of leaves. We only had a little pile to play in the other day so we were very excited about it. Tuck was a little nervous about getting in the middle of it but he liked watching the big kids. He did try to work his way in a couple times though.




I ordered him a Carhartt jacket, just like Daddy's, from ebay the other day. It arrived this afternoon and is so cute on him. I bought a 3T thinking it would be huge but it's really the prefect size for him right now. It's really cute! I'll have to get a picture of the two guys in their Carhartt's together!

Lots of groceries for not a lotta dough!

With two boys to feed in the house...Jay and Tuck, I'm back in the coupon game again. I've done the CVS and Walgreens thing for awhile and I've got enough shampoo until Tuck turns 18, but I want to see how little I can spend on things we really need, food.

It was a rainy, cold day so I sat inside near the fire and started going through my websites while Tuck was napping. Jay cleaned the printer and got it going, which definitely helped the cause today. I made my lists and found some really good deals at Shaws, so Jay stayed with Tuck and I set out for downtown Windham, across the street.

Basically I got $130 worth of groceries and spent $53 out of pocket, also getting back $13 to use on my next trip! So around $40! General Mills has a spend $25, get $10 on your next order promotion going on, and I found out that the $25 is at regular price before coupons. So I bought items for around $25, which was about $17 sale priced, used $4 in coupons and got back $10 and a $3 coupon... not too shabby. So I did this twice using my $10 from the first order to pay for the second and I'll be printing off more coupons to do it again a few more times this week. Free food! Most coupons can be printed off www.coupons.com for free too!

Tuck was as excited as we were and helped unpack. Of course he had to have the Cheese-Its as soon as he saw them...

New Gloucester Fairgrounds w/cousins

Bright sunny day, perfect for a little New Gloucester Fairgrounds action. Meacy told us about this a couple weeks ago and we were all very happy to see the sun shining this morning.







Around 10am, we drove over to New Gloucester for the small fair type event. There were lots of antique cars, old tractors and lots of activities for kids. It was pretty chilly out so we bundled Tuck up well. He started out in the backpack, but as soon as we got near the tents and tractors, he wanted to walk around. I thought there'd be some animals but there was only a little pony and Angora rabbit. The tractors and monster fire track were the main attractions anyway!

Tuck instantly spotted the tractors and as we were sitting on them, we saw a tractor pulling a train of about 10+ little carts to ride in. The kids went nuts and we waited for him to come around again. I wasn't sure if Tuck would like it because sometimes he doesn't really like rides, but he loved it. I held on to him at first, but then he grabbed the sides and rode very well as we walked beside him. It was so cute to see all the kids riding along!

I took pictures so hopefully we'll be able to make a little ride like this for Grampa Mac's tractors!!!





We also went for a ride on the gigantic fire track. Tuck liked to look at it but he cried for about half the ride with Daddy. Once the driver let him ring the bell, he was happy and enjoyed the rest. It was pretty funny.

We bought some 'dogs and hand cut fries, and had a fun little picnic together. The kids were having a blast and it was fun watching them so excited about the tractors, even Evelyn! It was approaching 1pm so we packed the kids back in the car and headed home. Tuck fell asleep in the car and we were lucky enough to transfer him to his crib and he had a great nap!!!




Grammy Lyn and Grampa Mac stopped by on their way back from Amy's field hockey game. Tuck was very excited and put on quite a show! He loves company and as soon as Grampa Mac walked in the door, he picked up his big tractor and ran it right to him. It was funny. They stayed for awhile and had a good visit with us.

Later in the afternoon Meacy and the kids drove back up to hang out for dinner. They played very well building block towers and just having fun. We were lucky to be able to hang out twice in one day! Daddy made us all dinner while Meacy and I entertained kiddos. After a nice spaghetti and meatballs dinner, we all headed upstairs to play in Tucky's playroom. We stayed there for awhile and then did the whole pj's, brushing teeth and books deal. The boys were spent and after a super fun day, Tuck passed out immediately. Jay and I did too...

Golfing at Sunday River

Earlier in the Spring, way before I knew I was pregnant, a bunch of us bought these golfing passes on special and one of the rounds was for Sunday River. I really didn't think I'd get the chance to use it, but today I did. Jay had the day off and watched Tucky so that I could meet my folks and some of their friends at Sunday River.

It was super chilly, but peak foliage and unbelievably beautiful! I've never been to this course before and it's really amazing, and very challenging! I played a bunch of golf this summer, but it's been a good month and I wasn't sure how I'd do with the baby belly. Surprisingly, I did okay.





The course is long, very hilly and has lots of sand. We used carts but it was still soft in some areas so we ended up walking a fair share. I couldn't believe how steep some of the cart paths were, not to mention the holes. I started off shaky on the first 2-3 holes, but once I rechecked my swing, I actually started to hit the ball fairly well. I just couldn't putt. None of us really could, but it didn't matter because the course was so beautiful and we were outside.

It took us about 5 1/2 hours to play 18 holes and we had a blast. I wore my down jacket the whole time because it was windy and cold, but the pictures speak enough for the views! I'd really like to play this course again, preferably without a baby bump. Hey, not bad for 27+ weeks! Tuck got to kayak the coast of Maine while I was pregnant and now the little girl has accompanied me for several rounds of golf!

Fall Foliage at Sugarloaf

It was Sugarloaf's Homecoming weekend and we had planned to be up from Friday on, but Jay was on call and we decided to hang around the house until late Saturday. We had friends also coming up this weekend but with sick kids, plans change quickly we all know. We had dinner in Auburn on the drive up and got to camp around 8pm. Tuck fell asleep in the car but woke up with Casco's excited noises as we drove in the driveway...argh. Anyway, he was not having any of our plan to go to sleep in the pack and play, so after some manuevering, we put him to bed in ours. It was super chilly in the camp and as soon as I bundled him in the bed and he was comfy between pillows, he went to sleep. I did try to move him a couple times and the little bugger woke up immediately... we dealt for the night.







It was chilly up in the mountains so we got the woodstove going immediately. Sunday morning was beautiful but cold, and it was so nice to just hang out inside. The view of Cranberry Peak was awesome, it's really beautiful up there. Apparently some mice found their way into the house so we had some cleaning to do. Tuck played with his toys with Daddy while I went to the store for some supplies and the paper. After awhile we took Tuck outside to get some foliage pictures and he was just having a blast. He picked up sticks, chased Casco and just explored around Hedgehog Village. He's definitely an outdoorsy boy!!!




Grammy, Grampy, Auntie Amy, Uncle Jeffy and Amy's friend drove up to visit and took little Tucky back to the mountain so Jay and I could clean. We showed up a few hours later and he had been having a blast with them. Around 2pm we left Sugarloaf and drove back to Oakland so Tucky napped in the car because he was not into napping with all the excitement going on. The rest of the day consisted of football, big dinners and hanging with family. Oh yeah, Tuck spent about 4 hours with his John Deere tractors... he absolutely loves them!

Here's also a picture of our new car... 2005 Subaru Outback... yes, it will hold 2 car seats!

Rainy weekend, playing inside

We knew it was going to be a wet one so our only plans were to stay home and take it easy. We have had to wake Tuck up the last couple mornings but he got us up around 5:45am Saturday morning and was ready to play. Jay made us yummy apple cinnamon pancakes...and then Tuck was off playing.





Auntie Janet came over around 10:30am to play with him but by 11:30 he was so sleepy that he took an early nap. She and I ran a few errands and when we got back, Tuck was up and Meacy and the kids were at the house. We had a rainy day playdate which consisted of homemade pizzas, playing upstairs in Tuck's room, back downstairs, back upstairs! The kids were having a blast and we spent all afternoon together. We actually put dinner together pretty quickly too because the kids were starving and getting very tired. As soon as Tuck had pj's on and Meacy's crew left, he was asleep in minutes. Apparently Spencer was the same way!

Today Tucky let us sleep in and after he woke up around 6am, he came in and snuggled with us, until 8am. I actually got up a little earlier and got a paper, but the two boys were sleepy. It was much warmer out and the yard was starting to dry out so Tuck and Jay spent some time outside. We took Tuck and Casco for a little walk, then he played with his car in the driveway. Jay sold the old Saab today so it was a busy weekend. In a matter of two days, we bought a 2005 Subaru Outback for Tuck and I and sold Jay's old Saab. We are thinking ahead and the Suby will allow us to hold two carseats much easier.

After Tuck's nap, he played next to me as I watched the Pat's game and then he helped Jay unload a truck full of wood. He wants to help out as much as he can. It's really cute. We drove over together to get groceries and Tuck made a lot of friends there...he said "Hi" so many times and so loudly that everyone in the store starting talking to him, it was hilarious. After a nice dinner in which he ate everything in site again, and a quick bath, the little man was ready for bed.

Funny boy!!!

I picked Tuck up at Cindy's this afternoon and she was telling me about his day. He is a funny little boy... So they have this stuffed animal thing that plays naptime music that Tuck apparently loves. Well it died this week and Tuck was upset so Cindy pulled out this bunny music playing thing. It is an older Mother and little bunny and Tuck has absolutely gone crazy about it. He carries it with him all day and sets it beside him while he plays. Today he didn't want to give it up during naptime so it took him awhile to figure out how to wrap up in his blanket and snuggle with the bunny. He even put the bunny in the trailer of one of his favorite truck toys and pushed it all around her house. She was laughing telling me about it because for some reason he is really into this bunny thing. He's never looked twice at any of his stuffed animals before, but this older antique looking bunny thing is his favorite!!

The car ride has also been really fun lately because he is so into trucks, tractors, boats, you name it. Every dump truck he sees, he gets very excited, points and says "beep beep." It's hilarious. When he's not looking out the window, he's reading his big truck/tractor books and pointing loudly to the pictures. He's at a really great age, absorbing everything like a sponge!

He's also been a little naughty and had to have a few time outs but he seems to be learning what's right and wrong pretty well. We only have problems at home when he gets really excited and targets poor Casco... he'll take his tricycle or dump truck and chase her into the cupboards or around the house. Sometimes I just put her outside and we move on. He really loves Casco but is learning how to control his excitement.

I'll try to add pictures of Tuck playing with the bunny if I remember to bring my camera to Cindy's tomorrow.