Catching up

I'm hopelessly bad at this blogging thing, huh?  My faithful 6 readers have probably been wondering what is up with us!  It has been a jam packed summer!  We took two trips to Michigan...One for the 4th of July @ the cottage

the cousins enjoying cookies for breakfast

learning to fish

and one to meet our new Niece Lilly!

sadly, the best cousins pic I could manage

isn't she just soooo precious?

 and of course opportunity to spend some more time with family.

Four Generations

There were beach trips, festivals, and days at the park

Michigan Gothic

Parades, ball games, and fireworks

like Mardi Gras for kids, only with lollipops

And now it's time for back to school!  

Nathan is in the 4 year old preschool class this year, with some familiar friends from last year and some new friends.  He's geared up for a great year!

first day jitters

with his best girl Ava

Whew!

Now fall is in full swing, the cool crisp air has set in, and we have a lot to be thankful for.  I hope to not be so lame and be a little better about keeping the blog up (I promise, Mom...)  Feel free to add your comments, you know, so I know I'm not blogging into thin air. ;)

If you're interested in keeping up with my crafties...I blog about them here

Mamas Gone Wild

Moms of young children everywhere dream of that elusive and rare magical event known as "Girls Night Out" (or GNO for short). It takes planning, it takes coordinating schedules, it takes finding something in your closet that is acceptably cute and not stained and cramming your muffin top into a pair of cute jeans (eek, guess it's time to lose the baby weight-more on that later!)...but it's all worth it for a couple of hours of hysterical laughter, gossip intelligent adult conversation, a couple of margaritas, and a hot uninterrupted dinner. No, it's not the partying of our pre-parenting days...but one thing is for sure. We arrive back home to our families refreshed and recharged and ready to resume our roles as Super Mamas. So, here's to you GNO-may you remain a regular occurrence in our crazy lives!

Ole!

Beach Day FAIL

It sounded simple enough. It was a beautiful summer day, one of very few we've had during this short season, a beach day seemed like a no brainer. So, we packed up 4 kids and the insane amount of stuff they require, and headed up to New Hampshire's wildly popular and delightfully cheesy Hampton Beach. What could go wrong?

I don't know...was it the 12.5 mile back up that turned a "little over an hour" drive into at least 3? (note to self, do not suck down a Dunkin' Donuts ice coffee in the car without knowing precisely when your next bathroom break is going to be.)

was it the very poor decision to drag strollers down onto the sand?

Or was it not considering the rising tide before snagging that "perfect" spot on the beach? We got washed out not once. Not twice. But at least four or five times. Two mommies scrambling to move all our stuff out of waters way while one child runs full boar into the ocean, one infant on a hip, one wailing about the injustice of it all, and one...wait...where is that one? Oh, she's decided to play with the family next door.

It wasn't long before-frazzled and fried-we packed up our soggy possesions, rounded up the children, and schleped our way back up the beach (did I mention what a bad idea it was to drag strollers onto the sand?) to make our way back to our coveted $20 parking spot.

Okay, so it wasn't ALL bad. The kids had fun. Nathan surprisingly was a huge fan of the ocean and wanted to spend all his time in there. This came as quite a shock to me, as you might remember it was only a year ago that the mere mention of going near the ocean would send the poor child into panic mode. He's come a long way since then.here is the little beach bum enjoying the water

Nathan and his best girls

Ellie enjoying her first beach day

We're making memories, kids. Making memories. Now, excuse me...Mommy needs a drink...