Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Vacation!

I'm finally on vacation!  So far we've done a lot of nothing.  Over the weekend we had a Hurricane Party for Hurricane Irene.  The hurricane at least, was a big bust here.  It rained most of the morning and by 4pm we were seeing peeks of sunshine.  Nice, but not what they were saying was going to be awful.  I know it WAS awful for a lot of people, but at least at my house it was just an inconvenience.

Monday we went to the park, twice, again!  Just like last week we got a phone call around 3:30 to meet our friends at the park.  So this time we headed to a different one.  They fed ducks, chased frogs, picked lilypads, and played at the playground.  The girls had a fabulous time with their friends.

Tuesday we TRIED to go to the beach.  Enter Hurricane Irene again.  If I'd have thought to call ahead, it would have saved us a lot of trouble.  We headed south into Connecticut to go to our favorite beach.  We got lost, and when we got there, they were closed.  As was every local beach.  Hurricane Irene blew all the sand around and made a huge mess.  There were trees down everywhere, and no power in a lot of places.  So our beach day was a bust.

Today we hung around with Daddy while he cleaned the car and did some errands.  Someone is getting too big for their harnessed seat, and we converted one of the two seats to a booster.  She loves it, but that seat is a lousy booster.  So we're looking into getting a dedicated booster seat.  We took Hannah to a few stores and she gravitated to the "pretty" ones.  So I'm going to research a few of them and we'll order the top choice online in a few weeks.

Tomorrow we're headed to a park again, to meet some other friends and their kids to play for a while.  They'll have a great time, and I love having Mommy Friends to be with.

Friday is my orientation for school, and the closer the first day gets, the more nervous I get.  I've been online and in my book starting the first chapter for my math class.  I'd rather get ahead and be able to spend time working on things that boggle my mind later.  Then that afternoon I'm driving the girls to Meema's for the weekend.  So it'll be a full week!  And hopefully Hannah and Norah have fun, because next week school starts, and all the craziness that goes with that.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Quiet

Things have been quiet around here.  The girls have spent a lot of time at home, and a few afternoons at the park.  Their friend isn't feeling well, and was admitted to the hospital again last night for a fever.  So we haven't hung out with them, so as not to chance Mimi getting sicker when she's already immunosuppressed.  We did go to the park with them Monday, a nice trip to their favorite park, the one with the tire swing.  The one that takes a half hour to get to on a good day without traffic.  The one that is a nightmare to get to because they have all of the whole way there (BOTH ways, highway and backroads) dug up, in construction.  We've only been there one other time this year, so driving over on a Monday at rush hour was no small feat.  But the girls all had a fabulous time, and I have pictures up already on the shutterfly site.

With hurricane Irene on her way, I'm expecting a quiet weekend also.  Maybe movies and popcorn, and cooking.  I always seem to cook when I'm stuck at home.  Food to freeze.  Meat sauce, chicken broth, soup, etc.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Finally

Here we are, more than halfway through August, and I can count on one hand the number of days Norah wore shorts.  She has an entire drawer full of the cutest shorts and skirts, and she refused to wear any of them.  A closet full of adorable shirts, and not one acceptable.  Every morning it's the same question.  "Mommy, can I wear a dress?"  I'm starting to think people think I don't like shorts on my girls because they both prefer dresses. 

However, this morning when she posed the same question as every morning, I told her it was fine.  Next thing I knew she was wearing an adorable shirt and jean shorts.  I love how cute she is in them, and I keep telling her so.  Hoping that for the next 3-4 weeks we have of warm weather, she'll wear more shorts.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Daredevil!

Today was Grampy's work picnic at Six Flags.  Hannah hasn't been since last year, and she's just skimming the 48" mark, so we thought we'd get her on some real rides this year.  She enjoyed a lot of the kiddie rides that Norah went on.  They both loved the Carousel, and some of the little rides.  Then we headed into superhero world to try out the new Gotham City coaster.  I rode with her the first time and Hannah loved it so much, she dragged Amanda with her three more times! 

Then we headed for a snack in the picnic area, and hit some more kids rides in that section.  Also in that section is Pandemonium, and Flashback.  I wanted to ride Pandemonium, so since Hannah was big enough, Amanda and I took her on that also!  She periodically got that look of total terror that flip flopped with maniacal laughter.  It was hilarious!  By the time we were heading out she was asking to go on it again.  She stopped just short of going on Flashback.  They had agreed to let her on even though she falls just short of their idea of 48".  However, she changed her mind. 

Oh well, there's always next year, right?

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Mid-Week Fun

We've been busy this week.  Yesterday was Steven's day off, and to celebrate we headed up to Lucky's in Northampton so he could get the addition to his tattoo that he's been so desperate for.  I'm not a fan of names.  Ever.  However, in the end, it's his arm.  So yesterday he got the girls names added to what he already has.  So far it looks good, just a bit puffy and pink this morning.  I do think it came out well, even if I can't appreciate having names inked into your body forever.

After we were done there we headed up to our friends house.  They live in the area, and we hadn't seen them since June.  So we watched the kids play, and ate a nice dinner, and Kerry and I had some miraculously easy margaritas.  In fact I'm almost tempted to go get some tequila and make them here.  Almost.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Ocean!

I love the ocean!  I adore the ocean!  Man am I sad that we live far enough from the ocean that I can't smell it every day. 

Saturday morning we headed up to Grampy and Mimi's house.  We packed a lunch, some sunscreen, and water, and headed to Rockport for a picnic and some hanging out at the ocean.  Clay, Cody, and Matt came also, so there were three kids to watch carefully on all those rocks!  Norah was impressed with the water and how loud it was.  Hannah was terrified of sharks, despite the fact that there was no one going IN the water that there *could* be sharks in.  They both decided that it smelled stinky.... though they were definitely in the minority on that one!  After Rockport we headed back to Grampy and Mimi's house for some burgers cooked on the grill and other yummy foods.  Both girls slept well that night, though with all that fresh air, who's surprised.

I'm looking forward to taking them to a beach that has some actual sand so they can get wet and play.  Maybe one of these weekends I'll figure it out. 

Monday, August 1, 2011

Grating

I don't know what kind of crazy these kids got into today, but man it's GRATING!  Nothing they do is quiet, unless they shouldn't be doing it, nothing is peaceful.  It's all yelling, whining, screaming, crying, fighting.... I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but man, 3 and I , we do NOT get along.  I'm counting down the months until this monkey turns 4.  I'm thinking it won't help a ton, but it has to do something.

So I was very glad when Kat asked if we wanted to come over there to have pizza with them.  Mimi requested pizza before her spinal tap tomorrow, and it made her night that we came over and shared.  The girlies there are finally feeling better after having a nasty stomach bug all weekend.  So all five girls had a lovely evening of pizza and crazy.