Summertime chaos

So it's been over a week now since we returned from the beach and already I'm in need of another vacation, maybe this time without the kids. Last week John had farm camp at Frying Pan Park with his friend, Carter, and loved it. I have been battling a mild, but still annoying, cold and Kara is working on some new teeth (always a fun process). Needless to say, it was a chaotic week for us. Now Matt is gone for a couple of days at a conference in Baltimore, I'm still feeling some mild cold symptoms and I think John might be coming down with the cold. And Kara is just being 22 months old and dealing with all the challenges and frustrations (a.k.a. tantrums) that go along with that age. So much fun...well, lots of it is fun.

We actually went to a very fun summer barbeque last night with the families from Kara's playgroup. The kids and I had a great time, they ate a ton of hot dogs (John ate 3 and Kara had 1 1/2), and they both slept in this morning (thank you kids!). Then this morning it was a birthday party, complete with a real fire truck stopping by, for a neighbor down the street. And this afternoon we will be doing our regular playgroup time with Kara's group, which is always fun for the kids and me.

Later this week, the kids' cousins from Atlanta will be coming up for a visit and we'll be off to spend some time with them. Then on Saturday, I'm hosting a baby shower for my friend, Anne, who is due in late September. So much going on this week. It's hard to keep up with it all! But it's all good, fun summertime activities and the kids are enjoying it all so far. Hopefully our health will stay good so we can continue to enjoy it for the rest of the week. We'll see how it goes! ;-)

Back to Real Life

Well, we're back from our travels and are trying to re-immerse ourselves in daily life at home. It's a challenge after spending a week being completely off-schedules - naps, meals, bedtimes. Everything just kind of flowed and we didn't worry too much about the timing of it all. Of course, that resulted in some over-tired kids occasionally, but it was good overall.

The trip went smoothly. The car rides were not too bad, the kids tolerated it all pretty well. There was lots of crazy fun while we were at the beach house

Some of my favorite memories from this year's beach trip:
1. Watching the kids play in the sand and the ocean. This was the BEST!
2. Being able to spend so much time down on the beach this year. Definitely different from the past few years, and very enjoyable for us.
3. Spending time with family and friends.
4. The Beach Fairy, who brings small presents for the kids (mainly John as of yet) each day. Things like a book, some arts and crafts projects, a new Thomas train, and some squirt guns. John was THRILLED with the Beach Fairy each and every day. Even Kara got into the fun too.
5. Watching Kara and John get their fingernails and toenails painted pink! Kara was skeptical at first, but then totally got into it and was asking for more ("mo") polish to be put on! Toooo funny!
6. Doing a fun puzzle and playing games.
7. Eating lots of yummy food - shrimp, scallops, homemade pasta and lots more!
8. Playing air hockey with John
9. Snuggling on the couch with both kids early in the morning (of course they didn't sleep in a bit) before everyone else was up.
10. Watching the full moon rise on the last night we were there. Just beautiful.

It was a great trip, but very exhausting for us all. Now I wish I could go back to relax from the trip!! Ah well, maybe next year??

To the beach

Well, tomorrow we are off on our journey to the beach. First we will drive to Richmond, VA and stay the night with our friend, Kay. Then we will drive the remaining distance on Saturday to Topsail Island, NC. It truly is a serene place. It's very quiet and we do love it. As the kids grow older, it will seem less interesting to them, but for me, it is perfect.

For this trip, I hope for good weather, an easy drive (to and fro), good times, good food, some relaxing and lots of good comraderie with family and friends. This is always a fun trip, and this year will be too, no doubt. I'm sure I'll have plenty to blog about upon our return.

Done with the Easter Bunny already?

As the kids and I were eating dinner tonight, John says to me, "The Easter Bunny isn't real. You're the Easter Bunny." I had a hard time not smiling and admitting to the job, but instead I managed to ask "Why do you think that? Did someone tell you that?" He wouldn't say that anyone told him this mysterious fact, but he said that he thought I went out late and night and bought the candy and gave them to all the kids (so I was not only our Easter Bunny, I've become everyone's Easter Bunny), because the Easter Bunny doesn't have any money, so how could he buy candy at the store! Now, this is all interesting logic and didn't seem to spread to the Santa phenomenon. But he was pretty sure about this Easter Bunny business.

I'm not sure I convinced him, but I didn't blatantly lie either. It's all such a fine line. This was the first time he has questioned us on this fact, so I'm sure it will come up more in the future. But I'm also thinking this came up as a result of playing with some older kids today at the playground. They were all kind of bragging at one point about what big kid things they have done already and at several points they were off playing out of earshot when one of them could have slipped in a little doubt about the Easter Bunny. I guess it's all part of the process of growing up, but I wasn't quite ready to have him start questioning some of the best parts of childhood.

Guess I'd better go so I can start counting money to buy the candy for all the children next Easter! ;-)

The Piles Begin

Today is Monday and we're leaving for our beach vacation on Friday. That means that this is the beginning of our piles of stuff to take with us. All over the house. The kids and I managed to get to Target this morning to procure good snacks for the car (and by good, I don't necessarily mean healthy), some more sunscreen, and new sunglasses for me (thanks, Kara). They both behaved really well and nobody even fussed at me to open any of the food immediately, which has typically been the case with previous experiences. All I've been saying all morning is "we're getting ready for the beach!" and it results in HUGE grins from both kids and lots of happiness. I wonder how long the joy will last this week, can I stretch it out for the next 4 days until we leave. I'm not sure. But we do have lots to do and lots of errands to run in preparation, including the library to get some new books and (best of all) new videos for the car ride. Thank goodness for portable dvd players! A few years ago I'm not sure I was a supporter of the concept, and I still choose not to use one on a daily basis, but for long car rides they are the best! What a sanity saver for the adults. For now John and Kara are young enough that they will be perfectly happy to watch the same video, but I do forsee a need for 2 separate players with headsets later on. Because there is no way we're giving up the joy of the dvd player!!

And now all I can say is "we're getting ready for the beach! Yahooooo!!!!"

4th of July

Happy Fourth of July! We're doing something slightly unusual today, as this is traditionally a day spent with the family together. Matt took John down into DC today, to spend the day and night on Matt's parents' boat, which they have docked at a marina downtown for the weekend. John was so excited to 1) see the fireworks and 2) spend the night on the boat. Neither of these are things he has done before. So, it could be a long night for the adults with him, but it also could be a great experience for all. I'm glad that he's getting to do this and hope that the weather cooperates so they might even get over to the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival today too. I can't wait to hear how it all goes.

Meanwhile, Kara and I are enjoying a quiet day at home together. She's napping now, then we're headed over to a barbeque/party given by some friends, followed by returning home with my best friend, Anne, and enjoying dinner and drinks with maybe some smaller neighborhood fireworks after Kara's bedtime. All in all, a good day for everyone.

I hope you're having a Happy 4th of July, whatever you may be doing!

Painful Portrait

As anyone who has ever taken small children to have portraits done, it is a true pain. With one child it is a challenge, but not insurmountable. I have come to understand that as you increase the number of kids in the picture, the challenge grows expontentially. When John was younger, getting his portrait done was not too bad (after the first miserable attempt when he was 6 months old). Now, add Kara to the mix and I've got a problem. Today we went to get Kara's 18 month pictures done, nevermind that she's now 21 months. She was unsure of the whole thing. The camera, the lights, the stranger, it was almost too much. John had a hard time waiting for his turn to get into the picture. When we finally had enough of her alone, I wanted a couple of shots with both kids. We did get one really good picture of them together, and then it was downhill from there. After two more okay pictures, Kara decided she was absolutely done and climbed off the table, into my arms and would NOT let go. She kept shaking her head and saying "NO." After a minute I realized that any further efforts would be futile and that we should just take what we had and go on rather than push her and end up with a tantrum. The portraits will be really darling, but they never seem to reflect the true experience of getting them taken. At least now I think I can be done with this for awhile...well, she will be 2 before long....