CM Get Away 2011...+ Our Tattoos From Last Week

This weekend we took off to Cape May, NJ for our annual overnight trip. Well, this year, my Mum took the Monks + Fif down for the overnight while my Mister, baby Liam-b and myself drove down the next morning for the day {work schedules + all}. Oh, we got sandy, saw dolphins swimming, drank road sodas on the beach...the Monks + Fif got stung by jelly fish, shopped {check out my awesome new bag + candle sticks} and we ate more greasy french fries than I'd care to admit. There were about a thousand missed photo opportunities, but truthfully, I was having so much fun, I decided to stay sandy and skip playing photographer for the day. On the drive home, while I admired the new bag my Mum bought for me in downtown CM {our little solo shopping excursions are another CM tradition}, I thought I would post it, along with the photos from the Date Night my Mister took me on last week {a belated anniversary gift}. Yes, while some couples celebrate anniversaries in more, ahem, traditonal ways, we set off to the tattoo shop...and then to my favorite resteraunt in Asbury Park for some spicey Creole food {+ a Cosmo for me!} We only make a tattoo appointment about once a year these days...so I had a laundry list of work for our dear friend Tom. I should have taken these photos right away, as a week later our tattoos are still healing...but here they are all the same. Some fill in work with these diamonds, stars + dots...and I added this new one on the inside of my other arm {the f'ing black cover up arm...so pardon any faded creeping lines, arrrgh.} Yes, after 8 years of marriage, I finally got my Mister's name! {He's had my name on his wrist since we were engaged...}

And then my Mister got this from Bink. Typical guy weirdness...I LOVE IT! So I think that just about catches us up with the more exciting events of late! We are embarking on our first full week with all children at home for summer vacation, my ankles are feeling much better {running injury which has been plauging me of late} and I am chomping at the bit for my new sneakers to come in so I can start pounding out the miles on the treadmill again. With the 4th of July weekend comming up, there are many fireworks to be watched {especially living as close to the beach as we do}...and in other exciting news for this week, alas, there are iphones in our future. I am finally jumping into the 21st century. I have to be the world's most low tech blogger... So on that note, I bid you a happy monday + a week of sunny skies!

xo

Harry Potter Exhibit NYC

We spent Father's Day in NYC attending the Harry Potter Exhibit! Actually, the outing was a gift from my Father {aka, Pappy} to the Fif for her Birthday. I always appreciate these outing/gifts from Pappy because while the event itself is always great, the time spent together with my dad, his wife + my brothers is truly excellent.

{Me + my Dad...} As a pretty {ahem, ridiculous} die hard Harry Potter fan, it seemed almost essential that I go to see the exhibit {which I believe will be in NYC until September, if you're interested in attending}. It was kind of surreal to be able to see all of the actual costumes + movie props that I know only too well from watching the Harry Potter movies again + again. However, being the good Harry Potter addict I am, enough is never enough! In spite of all of what WAS there from the movies, I was bummed to have not seen more on my favorite characters like Narcissa Malfoy {they did have her wand, my fav. wand by far}, Sirius Black + Bellatrix Lestrange {they had their Azkaban costumes, wands + clothes from Order of the Pheonix}...and ofcourse Severus Snape, *le sigh* {we did see his wand, costume + Potions Book from The Half-Blood Prince}. {Ahem, "Fifi-mione" as the Fif likes to be called...}
But really, the exhibit was truly amazing.... Not only were there tons of costumes + props spanning YEARS of filming, there were also entire pieces of sets on display, including one of my favs: Delores Umbridge's PINK office from The Order of the Pheonix. Yet I'd have to say that one of the biggest highlights of the exhibit were all of the creatures on display such as Fawkes the Pheonix, a Centaur, the head of the Hungarian Horntail, Mandrakes that the kiddos could actually pull from their pots and my ALL TIME favorite, Buckbeak the hippogriff {half bird/horse creature}. Spectacular!

While my brother + the little Folk had "fun" eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans {in actual disgusting flavours like earwax, vomit, earthworm, rotten egg, sausage + dirt among more normal jelly bean flavours} and chocolate frogs, I was more than happy to enjoy a nice late lunch before heading home. It was such a great birthday gift for the Fif + a most excellent way to spend Father's Day!Oh, and if you are so inclined {+ are as much a Harry Potter fan as I am}, here is a fun online test to find out which House at Hogwarts you would be sorted into. My Mister is a Hufflepuff...and me...well, I wasn't surprised with which house I was sorted into, but maybe I'll let you guess anyway? Post me your guess + let me know where you were sorted, just for fun!

Hoping your weekend + Father's Day celebrations were just fabulous!

xo.

An Egg Hunt + the Religious Citizens of the Universe

This past weekend was the Little Folk's Easter Egg Hunt at my Mum's church. Technically it is our church too...ahem, or one of them, since at present we are members of a few churches. You see, as far as religion goes, our family believes in God, but considers ourselves to be more, um...religious citizens of the universe when it comes to the number of ways in which one can love + pray to God. Life can give us alot to make sense of at times, but when it comes to God, I enojoy the opportunity to be humble + not know all the answers. Regardless of where we are {whether it be a religious place or everyday life}, it seems to me that the core of most religions have the same message: Love God, Love + Be Good to Each Other. So with that, my littles, Mimi + I happily bopped off to church on this cool, gray Saturday for a morning of crafts, planting, songs, snacks...and ofcourse, Easter Eggs! Ah, there is no mistaking us for being anywhere else but inside a church {or Catholic school} when you catch a glimpse of those brown tables + speckled floors! 1,100 Easter Eggs were hunted just before the weather turned rainy + raw...large amounts of candy were consumed + I swear to you that there was not one moment of quiet the entire day until bedtime. {Yup, that slightly spastic photo of me above with the frizz quality to the hair was very telling of what the day was like!} But as many a mama will say, "that's the holidays with little folk for you!" Perhaps having been in church kept me from eating said little folk before their father came home from work that night? LOL. As we embark on the kiddos "Spring Break" from school {everyone is home, TOGETHER for the entire week!}...I can only hope that they had a wonderful time this weekend...and pray that they don't find where I hid their candy.

xo.

A Springy Sort of Weekend on A Farm...

Well, I dont know about where you are, but our Saturday here in NJ was just fantabulous...and so we spent said day walking around a local nursery + picking up some flower seeds to start growing...{Not to mention an incredible bowl of heirloom-esque lettuces that can be cut an eaten throughout the season! How fun!} I felt this day was much deserved after the typically rainy Friday we had just had the day before. And Sunday's climate was somewhere right in between; not warm + sunny per se, but not raining either.

{Can you imagine the wonders to be found inside this castle like greenhouse?}

We had heard a rumour that there were piglets born at a farm near by us that we frequent! While the photos might appear more autumn like, the talk of baby farm animals can't help but make one think, "SPRING!"

Sadlly, by the time we arrived, the farm had closed for the day, so we only saw the piglets from a distance.We DID get to spend some time with our sheep friends {you know I'm wishing I had one or two!} + we have plans to go back sometime this week to see the baby piggies... Isn't there a school of thought that says when you are chatting with someone and the conversation turns toward "the weather", your just filling space? This may be true for some, but not when you have 3 little folk to contend with or are anxious to be spending time out-of-doors! Indeed the weather makes all the difference...so my many thanks to you Mother Nature, for providing us with a most lovely weekend for all of our adventures! How did you spend your weekend?

xo.

A First Grade Play

This morning, my Mister, the Fif + I attended the Monks' first grade school play! The show began at 9am...so what's a mama to do about getting her act together for her big boy's special performance?! Shower, updo, lipstick...and a great coat, I say!

Oh, life is too short not to have a bit of fun...especially when it comes to clothes, don't you agree?
Hair flower: Forever 21

Coat: The Mod

Jeans + Shades: Marshall's

But getting back to more important things: the show was called Arrf! {each child was a different pup}. I can't tell you how impressed I was with how well that kiddos said their lines + sang all of the songs! And infront of the entire school to boot! The only thing that came close to being as impressive was the number of parents; mamas + papas alike, who rearranged their work schedules to support thier kids! The auditorium was packed...it was absolutely moving.

From time to time, I still have to pinch myself when I think, "I have a 7 year old...and I am going to his FIRST GRADE school play!...When the h*ll did that happen?" It seems that over night he has become a REAL BOY; full of love, intelligence, kindness, talent...I could go on + on. Instead I'll just say, Thank you my little Monks; for the gift of being your mama, the joy + love you bring to all of our lives...and ofcourse a truly wonderful morning at your play today! We are so proud of all of the work that you + your classmates put in to make this a fantabulous production!

xo.

A Weekend, Laughter...+ "Gromas"

This past weekend, our public school system gave us a 4 day weekend in honor of Presidents' Day. Sadly, the Fif came down with a bug that had been passing from little to little as of late. When Friday began...well, I was thinking this might be a very L-O-N-G weekend...Outfit:

Striped shirt: Forever 21

Sweat shirt top: Target

Michael Jackson "Thriller" Jeans: Marshalls

Oompa Loompa shoes: Old Navy

************
But alas, it turned out to be quite a nice weekend after all! Besides spending some much needed time bummin' around the house, we were actually quite busy! Friday, the temps were above 60 degrees; so the littles {all except the Fif} were loving playing out-of-doors...and I was loving opening the windows + airing out the house! Oh, and all the kids got haircuts. Including a first haircut for the baby Liam-b, who was rockin' a serious baby mullet. And, incidentally, a first haircut for the Fif {at 3.5 yrs old!} But I have to say that the Monks' hair came out the best...I'm just lovin' his little punk style...better photos to follow...

And speaking of the Monks...he and I had a date on Saturday. Ah, gone are the days when most of us were taken to Mc-y D's by the parentals... Nope, the Monks elected to go out for sushi before hitting the movie theatre. {**note to self: be not surprised when growing 7 year old boy eats $30 of sushi for lunch**} We went to see Gnomeo + Juliet. It was slightly stupid...except for the fact that it WAS Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet...and it WAS in 3-D {very entertaining}...and well,the soundtrack was by Elton John + it WAS a movie entirely cast of ceramic garden gnomes. Kinda cool.

But what was even cooler was having that bit of time alone with just my "big guy". On any average day, I have no less that 3 people all trying to tell me something at the exact same moment, yet, when it was just the Monks + I, well, I could tell that he was really soaking in the quiet time. He is a bit of an old soul and I think we both enjoyed having each others full attention, having nice quiet discussions...and eating slowly for a change!

What started off seeming like a L-O-N-G weekend ended up not being quite long enough! Motherhood can seem uber overwhelming at times...especially as the littles become, well,... not-so-little! Watching them grow + change...I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by! Especially since most of the time, my Mister and I still feel like we are 21. I think the trick to good parenting is a sense of humor {and wine...definately wine}. But really Laughter is key. No one has ever felt guilty over laughing at/with their kiddos...but I have felt mighty bad after yelling. And who can deny, life is just too short to spend it being too serious! I have to remind myself of that from time to time. It amazes me that even as "gromas" {in Fifi speak}... life is always changing. That our littles challenge us daily to grow as people + be the best we can be. I can hardly believe that I am that momma sitting out for lunch with her big boy...or that I am the one getting all dressed for a career job...or that I am going to PTO meetings. When did my Mister + I stop playing house and actually turn into these "gromas" I used to see doing these things? I suppose it really doesn't matter when as much as it matters that we always remind each other of how lucky we are; that all we have is a gift {which can be hard to do when times are tough}. That is about as "gromas" as you can get, if I do say so myself.

*************

But enough sapp-y-ness...I have some playing to get back to! Hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!

xo.

Vermont? Or maybe just a little NYC?

My mister had a vacation from work the week before last. We had to laugh when we remembered that he had actually had the same week off this time last year, only we spent most of it doing lots of walking...and jumping...+ other things that might have brought about my going into labor + delivering baby Liamb! Even though funds were tight after the holidays, we decided that we should do something more that just "the same old routine", so we thought about heading up to VT. But in the end, well, it seemed like driving up to VT {+ the financial implicatons} would be more that we wanted to deal with...so we opted for a great famil day at The Museum of Natural History in NYC.

Although the Monks has been to the Museum many a time {we frequented NYC much more often when he was little...and an only child}, we had yet to take all THREE kiddos on the outing. It was a little busy, but going on a weekend day as if it were nothing made me feel like a real honest to goodness "NYC parent". {"Weekending it" also gave us the chance to catch a great exhibit on The Brain...where the kids got to touch a real human brain! Oh, rapture!} However, after our day of livin' up city life, this mama was more than happy to take her clan home! So whilst it wasn't VT, the daytrip was just enough to make us feel like we did something really special with the kids on my Mister's "stay-cation".

xo.