Our Trip Down South

Just got back from a week in South Carolina visiting my in-laws.

For the most part, the weather was gorgeous.

We actually were able to relax, thanks to Grandma's help.

She came to our place and would watch #3 while during lunch and nap time, which allowed us to relax at the beach and pool with Diva and Daredevil.

I actually got to read a book! I read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I know, the book has been out for 3 years, and Julia Roberts is now filming the movie.

But I don't get to read for pleasure much. I very much enjoyed the book and can't wait to see the movie.

Anyhoo, here are a few shots of our trip.




Here we are on a bike ride and are looking for alligators. They frequent the lagoons around the island.

There's one . . . a rather big one . . . exiting the water.

Now we are REALLY glad to be on bikes!

Behold our contraption to keep #3 happy on our hour long bike ride - a snack cup attached with string to the bike seat.

Worked like charm, I should patent it.

One of #3's trips to the beach.

Usually she was hanging with Grandma in the nice cool house, not getting overheated and sunburned. It was darn hot.

But she liked the beach and, as usual, ate the sand.

Diva and Daredevil enjoyed the beach, as usual

Hunter wanted to take Diva and Daredevil on a shark-fishing trip.

Fishing & boats are not my thing, (I tend to get seasick) so I offered to stay behind with #3.

Then Super-Grandma showed up and said she'd watch #3 so I could
GO. DO.WHATEVER. I .WANT.

I went shopping! I had THREE WHOLE HOURS to myself!

Here, Diva waits to get on the boat.

Knocking back a few at the Salty Dog Cafe before going shark fishing.

Daredevil did some more skimboarding.

He even got some advice from a twenty-something guy on the beach who was REALLY GOOD.

Riding the waves! The water was gorgeous, clean and warm.

We had been warned of jellyfish, but never saw any.

Waves were kicked up from Hurricane Bill, and later Tropical Storm Danny.

We loved it, because there are usually NO waves in Hilton Head.

Walking around and looking at the LARGE yachts at Harbor Town.

The kids begged to go up the lighthouse, but they've done it a million times before.

Not to mention we are slackers, it's a lot of steps. And it ain't free.

Listening to Gregg Russell. He's been singing under this oak tree every summer, 6 nights a week, for 33 years.

I came to listen when I was a kid.

He puts on a great show, fun for parents and kids alike, especially when he makes fun of tourists and yuppie parents.

He said something especially meaningful this time . .

As he talked about his children and how they are almost grown up, he said this to parents:

"Hold on to them as long as you can. It goes by in a blink of an eye."

#3 liked the music and was dancing
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So here we all are, waiting for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, the Crazy Crab.

I know, it's a rare picture of me. I don't like getting my picture taken, so there aren't many.

But we were very relaxed by the end of this week, so I relented.

NOW BACK TO THE REAL WORLD!

#3's First Birthday

#3 turned 1 on August 12. I can't believe it has been a year already. She is walking everywhere (almost running) and says one (sort of) word besides Ma-Ma and Da-Da: Uh-oh. She tends to say it just before she throws something on the floor.

Anyway, we had a small family party. She got lots of stuff anyway. I'll start out with the best part, the singing and cake. If she looks serious, that's because she was born serious. She does start to smile towards the end . . .

Here she is with the gifts, from us, my parents, my brother and his family, and her teacher. She's not too spoiled, right? (And I will admit, some of her toys came from the toy storage room in our basement)

The Care Bear was originally Diva's . . . Rainbow Bear has been biding her time in the basement, waiting for another little kid to love her. Her wait is over!

She loves the Cozy Coupe, and plays with it EVERY day! (That's Daredevil's tattooed arm!)

My 3 happy babies

My princess. She kept taking the crown off and giving it to me.

Happily enjoying a bit of cake . . .

She's had enough here. Sugar overload!

Next up is a post of our vacation last week, and then, back to school! Check back soon - I've got a long weekend at home this weekend, so hopefully I'll find some time to catch up on posts!

Overwhelmed, again

Vacation in South Carolina last week
+ School started yesterday
+ Work is very busy

= OVERWHELMED

Updates (and photos) coming . . . soon.

Works for Me Wednesday: Don't Cry!

This tip will be a quick & simple one, dear readers, because it's #3's FIRST BIRTHDAY today and I'm busy, busy, busy with work and birthday celebration preparations. A post with pictures (and maybe even a video, if I can figure out how to get it here) coming tomorrow or Friday about #3's big day. But for now:

HOW TO AVOID STINGING, TEARY EYES WHILE SLICING ONIONS:

No, I'm not going to tell you to wear swim goggles. That totally works, but when the goggles are outside by the pool or in the bottom of summer camp bags, that really doesn't make your life easier.

I'm no Martha Stewart, but this is what she told me (and the million other viewers of her show), and I've done it ever since - it really works:

Burn a candle (any candle, doesn't have to be a fancy one) near the cutting board while slicing onions, and the candle vapors will neutralize the stuff that makes your eyes water while slicing onions.

Do this, and you won't have smudgy mascara streaks running down your face at the dinner table. And if you use your favorite smelly candle, a fringe benefit might be that you just may relax a little while cooking dinner. Works for me!

Told ya it would be a quick & simple one today. See more Works For Me Wednesday tips here.

Excellent weekend

Whew. Back at work after a whirlwind but fun weekend.

Friday: picked up Diva from her first weeklong sleepover camp. We missed her terribly, but she had a GREAT time.

The theme of the camp was outdoor skills, and they've turned my drama queen into a nature girl. She can now cook over a fire, pitch a tent, use a compass, and flick wolf spiders off her mosquito net without blinking an eye.

We are so proud of her for bravely going off to a sleepover camp where she wasn't going to know a soul. She made a bunch of new friends and can't wait to go back next year. We are enjoying hearing all the camp stories (although the ones involving wolf spiders freak me out. Wolf spiders, apparently, are as big as your shoe).

Saturday: To celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary, we went to see ELTON JOHN and BILLY JOEL at the sold-out Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. It was a beautiful night and the concert was incredible. I had seen Billy before, but never Elton. They sang for about three and a half hours, and we didn't want it to end. We didn't have seats on the floor, but they were still pretty good - we used binoculars a lot. Here's the view from where we were:

There was also celebrity sighting there - Reese Witherspoon (and kids) with Jake Gyllenhaal! I didn't actually see them with my own eyes, as they were in the 4th row and I was not. They showed them on the jumbotron a couple of times.

Elton even dedicated "Tiny Dancer" to Reese, and they showed them rocking out to Crocodile Rock. How cute! Reese is in our area this summer filming a movie. She used to be a frequent visitor to our area when she was married to Ryan Phillippe - he is from here and his mother still lives in my little town, so typically there'd be sightings here in the summer. Not so much since they divorced, though.

Here's the set list. Lots of singing along:

Together, they opened the show and sang:
Your Song
Just The Way You Are
Don't Let The Sun Go DOwn On Me
My Life

Then Elton sang:
Funeral for a Friend
Love Lies Bleeding
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
Levon
Madman Across the Water
Tiny Dancer
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Daniel
Rocket Man
Philadelphia Freedom
I'm Still Standing
Crocodile Rock

Billy sang:
Angry Young Man
Moving Out
Allentown
Zanzibar
She's Always a Woman to Me (prior to which, he said, referring to his impending divorce "You'd think by now I'd learn" . . lol)
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
River of Dreams
Highway to Hell (yes, AC/DC, sang by roadie "Chainsaw" with Billy on guitar)
We Didn't Start the Fire
Still Rock 'n Roll to Me
Only the Good Die Young

Then finally, together:
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Uptown Girl
The Bitch is Back
You May Be Right
Bennie & the Jets
Candle In The Wind
Piano Man

It was a fantastic show. Elton never sounded better, and Billy sounded pretty good for having the flu, the reason he had to cancel a couple of shows earlier in the week. Billy did slur a bit sometimes and messed up the words a couple of times, but I'd chalk that up to some strong cough syrup. He also kept waving around an oversized red flyswatter, I don't know if it was buggy up there on stage or if it was some kind of joke.

I hope they continue touring forever, so I can go back again and again.

Sunday: Picked up the kids from the three separate places they spent the night (Diva with a neighbor, Daredevil with his best friend, and #3 from my parents). Then a thunderstorm hit and the power went out, and was out for about 3 hours. I think this should happen more often on the weekends. No TV, no laundry, no appliances. It was very quiet. With #3 down for a nap, I acutally sat and read a book, then took a little nap. Wow! Not to fear, the power came back on and the laundry fest started. And hasn't stopped yet.

By the way, after a few months off the wagon, I've started back up on another weight loss kick, and I've gone back to updating my other blog, Mr. & Mrs. Wannabe Skinny. Check it out!

Vacation pics . . .

Hunter and I spent last week NOT relaxing at the Jersey Shore. Yes, we had fun, had great weather, and sure, we loved spending all the time with the kids and my parents, but it was hectic and exhausting.

We were in Ocean City, New Jersey, which is completely designed for families. I have 92 photos, but I won't bore you with them all. These are my favorites:

#3 rode the merry-go-round for the first time. She is smiling here, but that's before she started moving. Then the smile went away and she was terrified!

Our annual picture in front of the lifeguard stand. The beach bum crew - from back left - my niece "J", Daredevil, Diva, and (in front) #3. Missing from the photo is my nephew "G", who 2 months older than #3's.

Ah, #3's first bike ride. She did not like this helmet and kept taking it off and throwing it in the street. You can see her dislike for it here.


We rode to the bike shop and exchanged her helmet. Here she is much happier, and no longer throws it into either the street or the path of another boardwalk biker.


The boardwalk bikers. OCNJ lets folks ride bikes on the boardwalk (about 20 blocks long) until 12 noon each day. I've done it since I was a little kid. Fun for the whole family.

With another baby in the house and only 1 high chair, #3 got to sit in a booster seat like a big girl. She enjoyed it very much.

#3 thought she would sample some sand. She discovered it's not so tasty. I thought she would learn, but she kept doing it again.

Daredevil on his skimboard. Waves were perfect for skimming. He is getting better at it all the time.
My beach babies . . .

Daredevil watching some surfers. He begged us for surfing lessons, but there just wasn't time. Maybe next trip. I want to take some more lessons. Surfing is very hard, but so fun.

My wannabe lifeguard.

A rainy day trip to Atlantic City. We went to Caesar's and then the boardwalk. Here is the gang with ol' Caesar. Training the kids early, we showed them how a slot machine worked (they watched from afar, we did not break any laws!) All hail Caesar!

Lunch at the Rainforest Cafe on the boardwalk at Trump Plaza. There was a 40 minute wait, so we sat at the bar. As I said, we are training them early.


This is at the Pier At Caesar's. It's a 3 story shopping mall out over the ocean. It was beautiful.
The mall is nice but very high end. I strode around the Louis Vuitton store like I was going to buy something, and Hunter tried on a $3,500 Tag Heuer watch at Tourneau and then pretended he just didn't like it. I'm sure we fooled no one.

To sum up the week, here's a flag someone would put up on the beach every day: It's All Good!

Not Me Monday . . . .

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

Usually, you can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week, but this week she is going through yet another medical crisis with her baby boy Stellan, so she has much more important things to attend to. Please join me in saying a prayer today for both MckMama and Stellan.

So, I'm back from a week at the Jersey shore with Hunter, the kids, and my family. Fun, sun, and absolute exhaustion. Will post pictures soon, but for now, a little Not Me Monday . . .

I did NOT put #3 down to sleep on the last night of vacation, walk in to check on her later, find her sleeping soundly with a full load of poop, and leave to meet some friends who were waiting for us at a bar. (I know, I know, but she wasn't poopy all night. I changed her when I got home 2 hours later. I was afraid to wake her up after she had JUST fallen asleep. My mom walked in while we were out and left the room as well!)

At the above mentioned outing with friends, I did NOT drink 4 beers and wind up a little more than tipsy. Even though we were leaving the shore the next day and I hadn't started packing yet. I SO can't hang anymore. Also, I did NOT blast the Beastie Boys from my ipod on the way home from the bar (Hunter drove, he can hold his liquor much better than I can!)

While bike riding at the shore, #3 kept taking off her helmet and throwing it in the street. I did NOT briefly consider not putting it back on her, as I grew tired of darting into the street to retrieve it. (Instead, I rode to bike shop to exchange it for one that fit better.)

I did NOT see the movie Bruno last week and almost FALL OUT OF MY CHAIR LAUGHING. I certainly do NOT think Sascha Baron Cohen is an absolute genius. The movie is just wrong on so many levels, but I loved it. I know the critics are saying otherwise, but I found it funnier than Borat (and believe me, I thought Borat was funny.)

When encountering Daredevil in the bathroom with a box of tampons in hand, looking perplexed, saying, "Mom, I'm just trying to figure out what these are for.", I did NOT tell him not to worry about it, they are for girls only, and I'll explain it to him when he is a little older.

I did NOT sit down to watch the movie Superbad last night and fall asleep at the opening scene.

Have a great week, and please keep MckMama and Stellan in your prayers.

Thursday Thirteen #1: Thirteen Things I Know Now, That I Wish I'd Known In High School . .

1. That popularity won't follow you for nearly as long as a good - or terrible - GPA.

2. That no one is looking at or or thinking about you as closely as you are looking at or thinking about yourself.

3. That down the road you'll be glad you have a grasp of basic math - so you won't feel like a complete dolt figuring a waiter's tip, what percentage of your paycheck you can part with or how to convert dollars to Deutsche marks.

4. That you'll never have a job just to cover gas money, concert tickets and clothes again.

5. That the less-popular kids might make better friends than the cool crowd. Popularity stops mattering the instant you graduate. (At least it should.)

6. That you won't miss out on anything if you skip a few parties or cut short a couple of phone calls in favor of studying. You can have good friends, a good time and good grades.

7. That when those people say "These are the best years of your life," they mean it, though not for reasons you might think. They're the best years because - regardless of how worldly and jaded you think you are - you're still open to life. Never again will someone's saying "hello" to you in a hallway make your spirit soar for a week.

8. That the nerdy guys of the senior class will be the most sought-after men at your high school reunions.

9. That 40 is much closer than you think, and you will pay dearly if you forgo sunscreen.

10. That someday you will be sitting at your 70-hour-a-week job, thinking that those teachers you mocked actually have it pretty good: three months of vacation every summer and a job that actually matters.

11. That if you have the opportunity to learn something or do something, you should grab it.

12. That you'll be forgiven for many things. Yet one stupid decision can alter your life.

and finally.....

13. That by and large, the things you regret most in life are the things you didn't do.

My First Blog Award!

I am very excited....Lana over at Living It, Loving It has given my very first blog award.....the Keepsake Blog Award. Thanks!

So apparently, as the recipient of this award, the rules are that I should blog about a Keepsake Moment, and then tag other blogs who I think are keepsakes. I started to stress about remembering a moment, and just then, one happened.

With #3 down for a nap last Saturday afternoon, I sat down on the couch to relax for a few minutes. Daredevil was in the playroom. Diva was out of the house with Hunter. All of a sudden, Daredevil ran in the room, silently handed me a little envelope, and ran out of the room. I opened the envelope and it contained a little note in the shape of a star. It said this:

Bingo, keepsake moment! And then, the smile not yet off my face, he darted back in and handed me another little envelope and ran out of the room. It contained this:

This is Daredevil-speak for "You Rock". I called him back into the room, said I loved him and thought he rocked too. Then I hugged my mohawked little man.

Yes, that's right. My baby got a full MOHAWK last week.

Before he went to the barber shop with his Daddy, he looked like this:

Now he looks like this:

I have to admit, I didn't like it at first. I thought he looked ridiculous. But now it has grown on me and I think it's cute.

Hunter said it was entirely Daredevil's idea and decision, and in letting him do it he figured it's summer, it's just hair, and it will grow out by the time school starts. All good arguments.

So Daredevil now thinks he's a badass. And he's a rock star at his summer camp, where all his peers now want mohawks too. I'm sure the parents are cursing us. Since he thinks he's so tough, here is his tough guy look:

It's grown in a little now, and despite me putting #70 sunscreen on his head, his scalp tanned a bit and now matches the rest of him. I think he likes it a little TOO much, he has mentioned keeping it for school. I told him ABSOLUTELY NOT.

But, I digress. Back to the Keepsake Award. I am now to bestow it on some of my favorite blogs. Check them out!

• Swiss Family Taylor - great stories and pictures about an American family's adventures living in Switzerland
• PTLaw-Mom - because she's feeling a little overwhelmed lately.
• Hip Moms Who Work - because I really like this blog. I work, but am neither hip nor cool, although I would like to be :)
• CrAzY Working Mom - because being overwhelmed and crazy is often fun.
• MckMama - because I love this blog too. I love looking at her amazing photography.
  
  

4th of July Celebration at my house....

First of all, fun was had in the pool! Here are Diva, #3, Hunter, and Daredevil, happy as can be....



#3 not only loves the pool, she loves her big sister . . .

Later, we went to the annual teeny tiny parade in our teeny tiny town. It was quite fun and the kids had a blast. Here is Diva (2nd from left) and Daredevil (3rd from left) with their friends:

Daredevil shows his patriotism in between darting into the parade route to pick up candy thrown from floats and vehicles:

Diva, #3 (her first parade!) and Hunter enjoying the festivities:

#3 got ahold of a flag and WOULD NOT let go . . .

Senator Tom Carper (our other Senator, Ted Kaufman, and our Congressman Mike Castle were there too....I didn't have my act together enough to get all their pictures....I thought it was cool that they took time out of their busy day to come to our little tiny parade!) These weren't taken with a zoom lens - that's how close we were. I told you, it's a teeny tiny parade!


Our governor, Jack Markell

Diva and her BFF

High school band (from my old high school)...not many of them showed up on a holiday weekend, but they still sounded and looked great. ...

Yes, this is a Pacer (with stuffed fish hanging in the back) .....this was among a throng of antique cars ....I'm surprised one of these is still running!

Good time was had by all - a very traditional 4th. The weekend went by WAY too fast (unlike the rest of the world, I worked on both Friday AND Monday, ugh) and before I knew it, I was back at work, dealing with all kinds of crazy stuff. La vida loca right now!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL

I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July.

I really liked these words from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, as said to CNN's John King in an interview:

"July 4th still represents a remarkable date for us to stall or stop and reflect on what our founding fathers achieved on July 4 of 1776," says the former general, "And the noble sentiment they gave to the rest of the world that all men are created equal and that governments serve the people. And the people serve the nation."

"So, on July 4th, let's as we were told by our founding fathers, shoot rockets and celebrate and let the bombs go off and celebrate and praise our flag," he says. "But let's not forget that the freedom we enjoy, the freedom that we declared that we would have in 1776, still has to be won every single day and it's won by all of us, but especially by these young men and women in uniform."

During this 4th of July weekend and always, I am very proud and grateful to live in the USA, and hope for peace, freedom, and prosperity for everyone in the world. Happy 4th!