My 4 extra hands

and I'm not calling them 4 extra helping hands! The boys just love to help cook and clean. Great you think. NOT! They love to help, but it isn't always in their best interest to remain civil. So, here we are again, breaking all the rules sitting on the counters, however, some days I just give in to the fight because it makes them so darn happy to help. Better yet, they will eat what they make themselves...well, Matthew will eat anything, Sam on the other hand has gotten a tad bit better at trying everything! The treat of the day was...rice krispys! HUGE hit over here!!! For mommy and daddy as well.

Go Bucky!

Thanks so much for the books Mimi! The boys love them and request to read them every night. How cute are they? If I had sound in this picture, the sound would be, Sam reading his own story, and Matthew laughing because he sees Bucky upside down :)

all ready for...well, not sure!

Some days, you just don't need to ask questions. You just go with the flow. Today was definitely that type of day. If your roller skates and swim goggles and helmet make you happy, power to you. Go Sam!

me and my cup of Joe buddy!

waiting so patiently for the pot to be done brewing! Matthew requests his coffee every morning. It's getting bad. Not that he gets it every morning, but he requests it every morning. Darn it if I make it during nap time, he will awake from nap requesting it! My children have inherited my sense of smell. They have a cop for a nose.

This morning he actually brought out my creamer from the fridge and said, "mommy, all ready for coffee". It was priceless! Yesterday at the park he drank about 70% of my cup. He seriously sat on the sidelines, while everyone else was playing and sipped his cup.

I can't wait to grow old and sip coffee with you buddy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Daddy!

Happy Birthday Daddy! We just wanted to wish you a very happy morning and we wanted to share with all of you his desk! Looks like his co-workers had fun last night!

We all Love you and we'll see you when you get home tonight! Happy Birthday to you! Enjoy your lunch out today :)

Cupcakes?

No, silly...FROSTING!!! Matthew enjoying a cupcake yesterday at Katelyn's cupcake Birthday Party!!!

They're so cute!!!

More rain fun!

I love that the boys love to play in the rain. Matthew is slowly understanding that rain is fun! They were just soaked out there. Sam, well, he was laying on the driveway 'sleeping' as he stated!!!

Painting!!!

Fun Fun Fun! Poster painting with REAL pain :) Move over crayola color wonder paint, we are now fans of real live messy washable paint. The boys loved painting, and request to do it hourly....darn you Hurricane Fay....now you brought all this sticky, hot, humid weather and they boys think it's okay to stay inside and request to PAINT all day. That's okay, it was fun. It was even more fun because Daddy was also home to share in the fun. However, Daddy does not like to get his hands dirty!

Summer Florida Olympics

Summer Olympics at the Teplin Abode

Brothers and Best Friends! They LOVED watching the floor gymnastics this Olympic year. They were so funny as they mimicked what they saw on TV. There also was a moment when Sam was speaking Chinese!!! Do you think they will qualify? watch the video above.

Waiting out the storm!

We ran out of indoor activities, so we resorted to a rain dance! Here are the boys! This lasted for a while before the strong winds came. Below is a video of the outdoor activity.

Doing the Tropical Storm Dance!

We're ready for you Fay...come and get us!!!!

Hurricane Fay is coming our way!!!! I am so excited. Well, I'm not excited for the chance of a Hurricane, but I happen to LOVE this weather. It has been rainy, dark, dreary, humid and windy for a few days now. And now the weather man tells us or county is in a Tropical Storm, Tornado, Flood, Rain watch until late Friday afternoon. HUGE amounts of rain are scheduled to dump on us!!!! This morning the wind has definitely picked up and the rain is still sporadic. But when it rains, it RAINS! Daddy is working from home today, however, his office building is closed. Sam is home from school today on his first hurricane day :).

The little boys and I are off to Target to get some rain boots so we can play outside. I think I've pumped up Sam to be excited as well, and Matthew, he is still a wee bit scared! However, we're going to have a fun day. We have our water, candles, batteries, food and powdered milk (super yummy) and we are set! Stay tuned and hopefully we'll have some pictures.

Matthew second haircut

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures, however, I am reporting a HUGE MAJOR change of attitude at the hair salon!!!!!!

Matthew got his second hair cut, or as the stylist called it, hair TRIM, and much to my surprise, he did FANTASTIC. Seriously, I did the big hair stylist warning before he got in the chair and Matthew totally proved me wrong. I think Ms. Jade actually thought I was a paranoid mother who just was scared for anyone to cut my child. However, it was awesome!!! We had a few tears, screeches and then Sam started doing his 'naked' dance (which by the way I HAVE to catch on camera) and Matthew started giggling and he laughed so hard he got hiccups. It was so cute. He even had a CONVERSATION with Ms. Jade!!!! Is he coming out of his shell?????? Oh please lord please.

...stay tuned on our life as Hurricane Fay is projected to dump 30+ inches of rain nearby. Holy smokes....what will we do? Well, who cares, at lease we have 2 trimmed little boys :).

Sam's first day of Preschool

The day finally came! The day we have been talking about for 6 months now. The first day of preschool. Sam woke up this morning, jumped into bed with us (Matthew was still fast asleep) and his first words were, "daddy, let's talk about school today".

So we both talked about school today and what was going to occur and the steps we needed to take before we actually got in the car and drove to school. Dearest Daddy took a vacation day so he could be there for Sam as well. Here are a few pictures, yes a few, that we took before we loaded up the van and headed out.

(click on picture below to make bigger)

BROTHERS!!! They are going to MISS each other :(


Sam's "bling" that he added to his outfit!
Sam's buddy, neighbor and good friend!!

Ty, Mallory and Sam...not sure what Sam is doing

Waiting so patiently for the door to open at 8:55 a.m.

Friend Mallory intrigued by the "bling". Mallory very interested.Sam was the FIRST one in the door. Ms. Jamie was waiting for him!!!! Sam was so incredibly excited!

Ms. Jamie showed him where to hang his bag....Sam and his first preschool teacher, Ms. Jamie!

Ms. Jamie said that Sam did so well today. No tears, just a ball full of help and "I'll do it". She said she truly enjoyed his spirit today and she can't wait to be a part of our lives.
WOOHOO!!!! You did it Sam!!! Mommy and daddy are just so proud of you. It feels like yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital. Now, you are in the hands of a wonderful teacher who will help you learn and grow! We are so excited for the days and months to come. Matthew missed you today as he kept saying, "wheres Sam, Sam home, Sam scool".

When we went to pick him up we kind of got the look of, "oh, you're here for me already?". Although he was so happy to see us, I could tell that he loved his day. We heard all about the morning in bits and pieces. Every time he would talk to a loved one on the phone we found out a bit more. He showed Matthew circle time, science and a song. It was so cute.

We got home and had lunch, I swear he almost ate his plate as well. He was sooo hungry and so exhausted from his day.

A new ride

We are so proud of him! Matthew decided it was time for us to take off the mommy & daddy handle bar on the back of his bike and let him pedal alone! He was right, it was time. He

rode up and down the sidewalks with great motivation. He was full of smiles and EVEN posed for the camera for me!

Big brother Sam had to jump in the pictures as well!

We're so proud of you Matthew!!!! You are such a determined little boy who always just knows what he wants.

I can't stop....

I'm so addicted to facebook! Someone pull me away :) If you are not a member and want to chat, add me as your friend!

Visiting with Cousins

The 'other' Florida Tep's came to visit this weekend! We had so much fun just hanging around. Matthew was okay with the idea of having them in his home! Thanks guys for making the trip up to see us~ We miss you already.

Matthew and his cousin Alivia

Matthew eating...imagine that
Sam and Alivia playing in the splash grounds

Matthew showing Sela how he chows poolside

daddy making his way down!
Alivia and Sam at the top of the GIANT slide!

Enjoying some fun with friends at the beach!

chocolate is for smelling...

last night, we were putting our shoes on to head out for dinner. As we were doing so, Matthew and Sam were very very quiet in the 'other' room. A few seconds later, Sam and Matthew came running up to us. Matthew was full of chocolate. His hands were covered and so was his face.
No big deal, I/we thought. I asked him what he had and he said, "ah, chocolate".
Mommy, "where did you get it from"
Matthew, "nose" (pointing to his nose)
Mommy, "you got chocolate from your nose?
Matthew, "es"
Mommy, "hmmm...Sam, what were you and Matthew doing in the other room?"
Sam, "nothing, we were just, ummm nothing"
Matthew, "nose..hurt, nose, hurt"

So I took him in the bathroom to clean him up and noticed after I cleaned his face, there was still some chocolate dripping down upper lip.

Mommy, "Matthew, do you have chocolate in your nose?"
Matthew, "es, Sam did it"

Moral of the story, quiet moments call for parental intervention. Never trust your children alone, even in the best possible locations.

Matthew, "nose, chocolate, (laughed with glee)."

Mommy, "Sam, did you put chocolate in your brothers nose?"
Sam, "yes, but he wanted it there..."

A favorite picture

One of my favorite pictures of Matthew!
His little voice behind the camera,

"ay eese"

Maybe he'll grow up and be like mommy!!!