polar express on the cape!

All Aboard! The Polar Express comes to life this holiday season as the Cape Cod Central Railway rolls out of the station bound for the "North Pole!" Come early and climb aboard with your family to cozy-up and enjoy our festively-decorated vintage train cars. 



Dancing chefs deliver hot chocolate and a cookie to each guest to savor while music from the Polar Express movie plays en route to the North Pole. Make sure to have your tickets handy, because your conductor will be by shortly to punch each child's ticket. Before arriving at the North Pole, the iconic book, The Polar Express is read as your Chef turns the pages to share the beautiful illustrations in the original book. With the station far away, The Polar Express magically arrives at the outskirts of Santa's North Pole village, where Santa Claus himself and his elves joyously welcome the train! As you stay comfortably settled and warm in your seat, Santa and his helper elf board the train! During the return trip, Santa will greet each child with his signature holiday spirit and the first gift of Christmas: a bell cut from his sleigh. It is said that only children and those who still believe can actually hear the bell ring. Join in the singing as your Chef or Conductor lead Christmas caroling on the 30-minute return trip. For those wanting the magic to last or to do a little Christmas shopping, visit our gift shop in the station for special Polar Express gifts and merchandise. Oh, one last thing, children are encouraged to wear their PJ's; adults who still believe have been known to wear them, too! So, are you coming? All Aboard!



All Aboard the Polar Express is coming to the Cape Cod Central Railway, visit http://www.capetrain.com/ or call             888-797-7245       to climb aboard.

Jingit Makes It Easy to Earn Money for Education! #jingit4edu #Cbias

now that the little m's are in pre-school, i find myself always looking for ways to help.  they attend an awesome public preschool here in my town.  it's a dedicated elementary school building that has about ten classrooms (which is amazing unto itself!)

anyhow, because they are a public school, they are always strapped for funds.  i was a pretty good box top collector last year on my own and the girls loved bring in their little baggies full of colorful squares.



well, i recently heard of an *awesome* little app that you can use to help earn even more box tops *and* money just by watching an ad or two (or in my case, hunting through walmart picking up items i already needed anyways!  score!)


LOOk at all them there Box Tops!  Woot!


Signing Up for Jingit:

1. Go to Jingit on your computer (OR you can go to Walmart and sign up directly there!)


2. Fill out the Registration Form with your name, email, zip code, birthdate, and mobile number (you must have a Facebook account)
3. Verify your Registration with a verification code sent to your mobile number
4. Start watching ads! Just select “Next” after you watch an ad and answer survey questions
I am brand new to Jingit, but I am hopeful that because they have a $10.00 weekly earning limit there might actually be opportunities to earn close to $10.00 a week on some weeks. Jingit features ads for national brands –  so it doesn’t matter where you live, you should be eligible to view most of the ads.
Also, even though I went on over to Walmart to pick up some back to school items (and get *four* box tops on some of the kid's snacks and cereals) you can watch the ads from home.  If you can't get out, you can still earn!
All opinions are my own, of course.  This is a compensated post brought to you by Collective Bias!

Leap Frog Twitter Party Tonight! 9/6/12

Boston Twin mommy has caught wind of a Leap From Twitter Party tonight!!!  These Touch Magic learning toys are great... my girls love 'em!  Catch you later on the interwebs!

There is no greater joy than watching our little ones playing and having fun, but that joy is even greater when we know they're learning at the same time! And when it comes to educational entertainment for our children, we all know that LeapFrog leads the market. That's why we're so excited to introduce you to Touch Magic™ learning toys by LeapFrog!

Join us for a fun-filled twitter party where we'll learn all about LeapFrog Touch Magic™ learning toys and share some learning tips of our own!

LeapFrog Touch Magic™ Twitter Party
Date:       TODAY, September 6th    
Time:      8-9 p.m. EST
Location: #LeapFrogTouchMagic
Host:       @MomTalkRadio (Maria Bailey, Founder of MomSelect)

Touch Magic™, a new product line from LeapFrog, brings intuitive touch technology to preschool toys for the first time. Combining fun, learning and creativity, Touch Magic™ learning toys use touch technology that recognizes every tap, touch and swipe to bring each product to life. We'll be highlighting the Touch Magic™Rockin' Guitar so you know the party will be rockin'!

After hearing all about how amazing the LeapFrog Touch Magic™learning toys are, we're sure you'll want to snag them for your own child. That's why we'll be giving away five (5) LeapFrog Touch Magic™prize packs, featuring an assortment of toys valued at $100 each, throughout the party!

firsts and seconds

it was a summer of firsts and seconds...

first time jumping into a pool or lake or ocean by themselves...


first summer of no hospitalizations!

first time we've thought about breaking out the 'elf on the shelf' in mid-july just to get them to behave

first round of developmental testing for madeline

second GI doctor for her too... that is a post for a different day, but all i'll say is go with your gut (no pun intended).  our little gal is not right from a GI point of view and because of her communication issues, she can't tell us.  after months of frustration and pain, we are finally moving on from chb's department and onto a place where we hope we can get an answer

second trip to sesame place!


first trip to storyland (with a second coming a couple of weeks!)



first time with molly in the driver's seat... holy crap!


first hike up a mountain for ms. madeline


and and an AMAZING couple of days at the beach for this family... never thought i'd see the day.  :)








it's been an amazing summer and i can't wait to see what the fall will bring (besides school schedules, doctor's appointments and madeline's upcoming eye surgery)


Check out Thirty-One's September Special

Awesome deal!  Check it out!

http://alifelesschaotic.blogspot.com/p/september-2012-monthly-special.html

REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: Leap Frog Touch Magic Rockin' Guitar

to say that my children are obsessed with music is the understatement of the year... madeline has walked up to a lone man playing guitar on a beach and tried to play it herself.  molly wants a constant dance party (even in church... makes life interesting, you know?)


their parents did meet in the marching band after all.  it's a dork love story for the ages really.  they will be members of the umass minuteman marching band class of 2031.  yup, that's right.  *then* they can go to harvard and get their medical degrees!  :)

anyhow, we were selected by leap frog to test out their new leap frog touch magic rockin guitar.  



this thing is awesome!  it really is touch magic, similar to the touch technology on a smartphone.  super cool.

Molly loves the technology.  See how thin and light it is?
it's nice and light and isn't a blazing glory of noise and parent-cringing blasts.  the girls love it!

get your own and enter leap frog's rockin' guitar contest for a chance to win $500!


 GIVEAWAY TIME!  enter below to win your very own leap frog touch magic rockin' guitar!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



a bronze anniversary


8 years!  how they fly by... if you had told me on our wedding day eight years ago that we would be celebrating our eighth anniversary dinner at friendlys (covered in black raspberry ice cream) and swimming at the y's kiddie pool i would have laughed out loud.  funny how life throws you curveballs huh?

as a bride i do remember the day flying by and trying to *remember* it.  savoring the moments... the beautiful day, the wonderful music (thanks to our amazing ummb friends (one of whom flew across the country with his tuba just for the occasion)), the amazing flowers (our venue, independence harbor has the most beautiful gardens and flowers.  i have major garden envy)



well, happy bronze pete!  i wonder where we'll be in another eight?