NYC: Day One

Mom & Dad decided to give the girls an experience this Christmas instead of buying tons of toys that they really do not need (and that we do not have room for).

I was excited!

We had talked about Disney (again!) and it was too stressful for me to plan (again!).  How do you people go to Disney with no stress?  I am curious.

So, we decided on New York.  It was the perfect trip for the girls and the grown ups.  We made this a girls trip but realized the day we left that Beau and my Dad wanted to go too.  Next time guys!!

The girls have had a running list of things they wanted to do when they went to New York one day.

Well their "one day" became a reality.

I had everything planned out and organized but not overly scheduled.

I thought it was best to divide the city up by Midtown, Upper Manhattan, and Lower Manhattan.

Here is what I had NOT prepared myself for... flying.

Flying was an experience.  I will have a post of tips for short trip flying with children.

I had only flown once before this trip and lets just say, next time I will be more prepared and more medicated.  Serious.

I sent this to Ryan when I landed.  #abouttohaveapanicattack

So here is our first day in the city.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day One- Midtown

We arrived at LaGuardia about 10:30ish.  Car service picked us up and took us into the city.  The views from LaGuardia into the city are beautiful.  More than likely your driver will be driving so fast and crazy that the likelihood of you getting good pictures are slim to none.  Save your time, phone memory and SD card memory.  You will have plenty of opportunities to take beautiful pictures once you are in the city.

We love searching for UPS trucks wherever we go.  We followed one into the city.

We stayed at the DoubleTree in Times Square.  It is in the perfect location for a whole city trip.  It is in the center of everything.  By "whole city" I mean, we planned on exploring different parts of the city.  When Sister and I go back, we will just be downtown (but that is a different story *wink*)

Our hotel gave us warm cookies upon our arrival.  We had a drink and our cookie before heading out on the town.  Our room was not ready until later in the afternoon but most hotels will hold your bags so that you can start sight seeing asap.  Check their policy and plan on getting into the city early so you have more time to see things.

We had lunch at Junior's Cheesecake on West 45th St. between Broadway and 8th Ave.

Whatever you do, get their Russian dressing with your sandwich.  It is amazing!!  I had the Matzoh Ball Soup and a corned beef sandwich with russian dressing.  So yummy!  The girls also got a hot chocolate here and it was amazing.  So thick and creamy.

Next we went ice skating at Rockefeller Center.

We did this forever.  It was so fun and the girls didn't want to stop.  There are lots of great shops around there too.  Even if you go when the ice skating rink is closed, you should definitely go to Rockefeller Center.  It is beautiful.

Next was American Girl.  This was a MUST on Bug's to do list.  She had her mind set that she would be buying the 2015 girl of the year at the New York store.  She did and she was so happy.



Prepare yourself... this store is HUGE!  We went to every floor.  Lots of people like to do the bistro but we skipped it because the NYC store can get crazy.  Honestly, I had other eating planned that I knew the girls would love so much more than the American Girl bistro.

We headed back to Times Square and dropped our bags off at the hotel.  We decided to head to the ferris wheel inside Toys R Us on Broadway at 44th St.

Be sure to see the T-Rex upstairs.  Super cool!  He looks so real.

This is where I need to warn you... BEWARE OF THE CHARACTERS IN TIMES SQUARE!!!  THEY WILL ATTACK YOU!!!  IF YOU TAKE THEIR PICTURE WITH THE KIDS, HAVE CASH READY.  THEY WILL SAY "MONEY. MONEY. MONEY." OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.  NIGHTMARE!  Get those dollar bills ready to shell out.

By this point, I was exhausted.  Oh, AND I needed an adult beverage from the plane ride hours earlier.  We decided to do dinner at Guy's American Kitchen & Bar at 220 West 44th Street between 7th and 8th Ave.

This is Guy Fieri's restaurant and it was so wonderful!

The Vegas Fries are amazing and I also had the Bacon Mac & Cheese Burger.  OMG!  So good!!  Just typing it makes my mouth water.  I also had a few PBRs.  PTL!

Dessert was a few doors down from Guy's.  Ben & Jerry's at 200 West 44th Street.

Ben & Jerry's is always yummy!!  ;-)

That ended our first day.

A few notes.  We walked everywhere.  We only took taxis a few times.  We used the subway to get downtown and to go a few destinations downtown (day 3).  You miss so much when you ride everywhere.  So, prepare your kids for the walking.  I had talked to the girls about the walking and the cold.  They did not complain one time.  They absolutely loved the city!  I feel like letting them know what to expect helped a lot.

Also, be sure to walk through the Diamond District.  It is so very pretty.  Lots of BEAUTIFUL diamonds EVERYWHERE!!  We were so lucky that 47th Street was the cross street that our hotel was on.  We were able to walk through the Diamond District a few times and it was overwhelmingly beautiful each time.

UP NEXT... The posh uptown and a Broadway musical.

Sentence starters.

I am exhausted.  Traveling to and from the beach for less than 24 hours is... a lot.
I wonder what we can do this summer that will be super fun and different.
I hear my husband pounding away on the desktop keyboard.
I see my dashboard FULL of drafts and need to be finished.
I want another glass of wine.  I am just too tired to get it.
I am not looking forward to waking up early for 2 more days of school.

I pretend to be the best at everything.
I feel drained.
I touch the keyboard lightly.  Opposite of how Beau types.
I worry about dinner.  What am I going to cook?
I cry when I am angry.
I am exhausted.

I understand that the day is almost over.
I say AMEN!
I dream of a fun, relaxing summer vacation.
I try to have patience.
I hope we can go to the beach soon after the girls get out of school.
I am exhausted & excited.

That time Beau took Bug for a haircut.

We were late... like always.

We were supposed to have been at softball practice 2 minutes ago and I still have to drive the 6 minutes to the field.

Bug has a dilemma.  She doesn't know if she wants to go with me or her Daddy.

I push for her to go with her Daddy.

He was running to get a quick haircut and Bug needed a trim.

Tears.  Screams.  "I just don't know what to doooooooooo!"

"You need a trim.  Go with your Daddy."

I threw her in his truck, threw Big's bat bag in the car and we were off.

Emma called while her Daddy was getting his haircut.  "How did your haircut go?" I asked.  "Good!  I will send you a picture."

Then I get this picture in iMessage...

Is that Jim Carrey or is that... Bug?

I had a brief moment of panic.

She has... bangs.

Not the normal "long-layer-swoop-bang" we normally have.

She.has.bangs.

She looked like Lloyd freaking Christmas.

Yes... from Dumb and Dumber.

You don't believe me?

Gulp.

It's just hair, I kept telling myself.  It will grow.

We got home about the same time.

Ryan walked in.  Bug walked in.  Both very proud.

"Buggy I LOVE your hair."

I immediately had to wash it and restyle.

I was determined to make her look more like Emma and less like Lloyd.

Shew!  MUCH better!  I worked with it.  It turned out fine.

So Bug, when you need therapy and a story goes back to bangs when you were 6... blame your Daddy.

We know discuss how they look like Taylor Swift bangs.

Check it...

MUCH better than Lloyd.

I am a softball mom.

Say what?

I am a what?

Yes, I am a softball mom.

Big was asked to play on a team this softball season.

She is very athletic (she gets that from her Dad) and very competitive.  Naturally, she jumped at the opportunity.

In a few short weeks, I have almost learned the rules of the game.

I learned what a RBI is.

I learned what "choke up on the bat" means.

I know how to repair helmets, face masks, gloves.

I picked out the cutest socks for her to wear.

I cheer when it is appropriate but never too loud.

I brought snacks and mini water bottles for the team one night.

I picked out tons of Under Armor headbands for her to wear.

I know what batting order means and that Big bats 4th.

I have seen a mom spank her child on the field.

I have seen parents climb the fence in excitement.

I have watched parents lose control and cuss in front of 7 and 8 year olds.

I am slowly learning this game now that the season is almost over.

I always said my girls would NEVER play softball.  I wanted them to be dancers and cheerleaders.  I was wrong.  I had to eat my words again.

I can tell you one thing I will NEVER eat my words about... softball mom t-shirts.  Proudly displaying Big's number on my back with "BIG'S MOM" written proudly above it.  Nope.  Never.  Not going to happen.

I love you something serious Big, but softball mom t-shirts is where I draw the line.

And don't even get me started on the car stickers.

NEVER.

Happy

Scrolling through my Facebook news feed, I came across the quote "There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy."

It made to stop and really think about happiness.

Happiness.

What is it?

Happiness [hap-ee-nis] 

noun

1. the quality or state of being happy.

2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

Growing up, happiness was in the simple things.  So I asked myself the question, what simple things make me the most happy?

Here is my part of my list.  Happiness is...

* The sound of my kids getting along

* When I find a bottle of wine in my refrigerator

* Getting a new Anthropologie catalog in the mail.  It is so crisp and smells so good.  I hate to even crack it open for the first time.

* Extra sauce on a pizza

* The sound of the waves

* Finding miniature seashells

* Cold coffee

* My husband's beard

* New sheets

* Finding a ladybug

* Salt air

* Chocolate

My list of the happiness could go on forever.

I look at the life we have made in the last 9 years and I am just... happy.

Simply happy.

9-1-1 is only THREE numbers!!

Like usual, I whipped into carpool on a wing and a prayer.

I silently said 8 profanities before even making it into the actual parking lot.

I scoop up the children and rushed home like we had somewhere to be.  Rushing all of the time.

On the ride home a conversation happened...

Bug: "Mom, I need your cell phone please."

Me: "Why?"

B: "Because Ashlyn gave me her phone number and I HAVE to call her."

M: "You're 6.  When did you start acting 15?"

B: "I need your phone."

M: "Negative."

B: "I need your phoneeeee."

M: "Nope.  You can't call her right now.  She isn't even at home yet.  We just left school".

B: "GIVE ME YOUR PHONNNEEEE!!"

M: "Silently saying more profanities... What's her number????"

B: "Here.  She wrote it down for me."

M: "Umm.  Yeah.  That's not a phone number, Bug."

B: "YES IT IS!!"

M: "It needs 4 more numbers to be a phone number."

B: "You are WRONG!  9-1-1 is only THREE numbers and it works.  Ashlyn's phone number is SIX numbers.  It HAS to work."

Bug never did get up with Ashlyn.

Forgetful parenting

Beau decided to take vacation last week.

It would have been awesome if the kids had been out of school but... they're not.  So, we did a lot of back and forth from home to the beach last week.

My bad parenting skills were put to good use when I let the girls skip school Friday so we could go back down to the coast for another long weekend.

We made it to Havelock and decided to stop for dinner.

We have passed by this restaurant a million times.  Thursday night we decided to stop.  Crabby Patty's is a cute little seafood joint.

Before ordering our food, Bug gasped.  I quickly turned to see what in the world was happening.  

"THE AR PARADE IS TOMORROW!!!!!!!"

Good job, Hailey.

Awesome.

In my frenzy to get to the beach, I forgot EVERYTHING written neatly in my planner.  AR Parade included.

So, Bug missed her last Kindergarten AR parade.

Worst.parent.ever.

**Sidenote: Beau asked her if she wanted to go back home.  Of course she said no but I still felt guilty that she was missing it.

On the bright side... all parents are forgetful.  Let's just take a moment and thank the good Lord that I have never forgotten something super important... like my kids.

I was talking to a mom the other day and she told me a story of forgetting her child.

There is a 10 year difference between her two children.  She was accustomed to only having one child when child number 2 came along.

She said that her youngest was a baby.  The baby was in a stroller and the mom took her hands off of the stroller to pay for something at a register.  She paid and left only later to realize she had forgotten something important... HER CHILD!!!

See... some people forget important events like AR parades and some people forget their children.

It happens.

Summer Reading.

Spring break rolled around.

I jumped on Amazon and found a few books that I had been wanting to read.

I was all, "This is going to the best spring break ever."  "I am going to read ALL of my books."

Too bad, I barely picked up a book.

I spent the majority of the vacation watching my children wade deeper and deeper into the water.  Me & Beau would frantically wave them back.  They would ignore us.

I had flashbacks of my Mom doing the same thing to me and my sister.  We would wade out deeper and deeper.  Mom would stand up waving us back.  We would giggle, wave to her and keep swimming.

Karma is a bitch people.

Anyway, my spring break reading has now become my summer reading.

Here's what I have on my list so far:

- To Kill a Mockingbird (spring break reading)
- The Glass Castle (spring break reading)
- Dear Carolina- a girl I know from my hometown wrote this book and I can't wait to start reading it!
- Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
- An Abundance of Katherines
- Sharp Objects: A Novel
- The Adderall Diaries
- All the Light We Cannot See
- Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters!
- We Were Liars
- If I Stay

Just curious... what is on your summer reading list??

My own little summer vacation

Preschool graduation was a few weeks ago.  That means I am officially celebrating my summer vacation.

The girls do not get out of school until June 10th so I am definitely trying to enjoy a few weeks of "my vacation".

I have a very type A personality and to be honest I could be a little OCD.

I don't nap.  I don't relax.  I am always on the go and never give myself time to breathe.

Lately, I have tried to be more laid back.  I have tried to have a little more patience.  I have tried to be more unstructured.  I have tried to promote less self-induced stress into my life.

So today, I will try not to jump out of my skin. Today, I will try not to want to rip my face off.  I will try to "go-with-the-flow".

I am slowly learning that minutes make up hours.  Hours make up days.  Days make up years.  Years make up our existence.

I am learning how to enjoy those minutes... starting with my own little summer vacation.

(PS- 9 days left of my own summer vacay!!)

Like... ever.

Someone recently asked if I was going to EVER blog again... like ever??

Part of me answered no.  Honestly, I think I may have even said "no" out loud.

No... because my kids are grown.

No... because my kids read my blog.  Yes, Big googles her name and finds my blog *palm to forehead*.

No... because now the cute stories are not so cute.  The cute stories are now stories of my older children doing not so cute things anymore.

As all of these nos ran through my head and some ran out of my mouth I remembered why I started blogging in the beginning.

I began blogging to keep a sort of scrapbook of my kids lives.  I look back at writings now that I am so glad I wrote down because I didn't remember them happening.

I also started blogging because I was extremely tired of feeling the pressure of being a "perfect" parent.  I wanted people to know that we all mess up.  We all have days that we lay down in the floor and cry.

I felt like sharing my stories of the craziness that I call my life, I would somehow make other moms feel like less of a failure as a parent.

It is always good to know that there are other people in the world going through the exact same thing you are.

So... my answer is now yes.

Yes... I will tell you my stories.  To remind you that we all go through it.  I will write them to remind myself in 7 years (when Big is 16) what my life was like when my kids were 6 & 8.

Some stories will be happy, some will be sad, some will be mad.  It will be a rollercoaster of emotion.  Just promise me, no judgement.  Parenting is hard.  We don't always get it right.  So don't judge my stories like... ever.

Xoxo

2015 so far. . .

So far this year, 2015, has been busy.

Bug is somewhat enjoying Kindergarten.  The whole "going all day" thing is still difficult some days but she is getting better.  The fact that she has a pet pig, Peppa, in her class now has been a huge help.  She actually wants to go to school everyday to be with Peppa.  She has a WONDERFUL teacher that she also loves.

Big is holding her own in 3rd grade.  This is a big year. EOGs start in a few short months.  3rd grade is only the beginning.

We went to NYC in January and it was amazing.

I have only been to NYC one time before this trip and it was everything I remembered it being.  It was beautiful and perfect and well... it deserves its own blog post or should I say postS.  I will do it day by day just because it is easier.  If you are planning on taking your kids to NYC, we have TONS of fun things for you to do while you are there.

February brought the Super Bowl and discussions about Tom Brady.  It also brought us Valentine's Day.  It's one of our favorite days of the year.  Beau has 3 girls that he treats like a princess that day.  We love it.

Now we are in March.  This is a big year for me.  I turn the big 3-0 this month.  Ryan I would love Eric Church tickets and dinner reservations at SoCo, Southern Exposure or City Kitchen.  I also want cupcakes.  Lots of cupcakes.  It's my dirtyyyy thirtyyyy.  It has to be a big one, right?

Let's play catch-up.  No promises on how long I will write but I do promise to document a few fun things so far this year.

Cheers!

xoxo

Stupid Elf.

Thanksgiving has come and gone.

Nana cooked a slammin' feast once again.

Now, Christmas is upon us.

Jack, the elf, is back.

Beau's response?  "I thought they had outgrown that thing."  Ummm, they are 6 & 8 NOT 16 & 18.  Geez.

These past two years I have fallen short with Jack's silly antics.

One year he did all kinds of cool stuff.  He made it snow.... he painted the girls noses red like Rudolph... he even married Barbie.

Last year, I was tired.  It was so much planning and I just wasn't up to it again last year.

I decided to just move him from place to place every night instead of all of these magical events.

And so the tradition of laziness continues this year.  Why do I feel guilty for that?

Stupid Facebook is why.

Stupid facebook is all... "Look what my elf did last night.  He made a WHOLE breakfast and decorated the table in beautiful Christmas china."

2 years ago, I will admit, I was that mom too.  I was that mom that was like, "Look at how cool my elf is."

Now, my elf is a... dud.

My elf is a dud and I feel guilty.

To make matters worse, the other night I finally sat down to relax for a second.  I flipped open Big's laptop.  This was her background...

Obviously, I laughed out loud.  I mean, that is hilarious.

(PS- She googles so she must have found the picture on google.)

Then it hit me.  This is a cry for help.  My kids need an elf that does fun/stupid stuff.  My kids want their elf to fly on the fan, turn the milk red... or hell, poop on a cookie.

So, tonight I prepare for the next 25 days.  My elf will be going nuts.  Jack is about to get crazy.  I just hope I am prepared for all of this.

And if you are wondering, NO I am not posting his shenanigans on Facebook.

But... I will post pictures here if you would like.

Sea and fall.

When the sea turns a deep color of blue, you know that fall is here.

There is a slight chill to the breeze coming off of the water.

The sea spray does not smell like summer anymore.  It isn't mixed with the smell of sunscreens and fruity drinks.  It smells... like the sea.  Just the plain sea.

This past weekend was a special weekend for us.

The 28th NC Seafood Festival.

This weekend consists of food, germs, beer, germs, rides, germs, food, germs, and food.

It is chaos.

It is a panic attack waiting to happen.

It is a hold-on-to-your-child's-hand-like-your-life-depended-on-it... because it does.  It really does.  There are tons of people.  All with germs.

But the food... the food...

It is amazing.

"Hey, Beau!  Look!  Red Fish has a tent up!"

We made a bee line to it.  This year, Red Fish Grill (a new eat in town) was serving yummies at the festival.  Much to our stomach's delight, they were serving grilled mahi, tuna and shrimp tacos.  Hello!  OUR FAVORITE!

However, they had to beat Ruddy Duck.

Y'all.  Our expectations are very high with any sort of seafood taco.  To even come close to Ruddy Duck is a hell of a feat.

Red Fish did it.  Yes.  They have mastered the seafood taco.  I got shrimp.  It was perfect.  There were two types of sauces and a mixture of greens, MAN... WHY DIDN'T I FIND OUT THE EXACT INGREDIENTS.

I stood beside my Beau in a parking lot, eating tacos and drinking beers like they were going to be our last.  Beau decided on the tuna taco.  At the time they were out of mahi so we only had two choices.  We each tried the other taco.  We are a team like that.

We inhaled our tacos (and beers).  Beau finished with a, "Damn.  I could eat three more of those."

Me too, Beau.  Me too.

We ate and drank so fast that we didn't get a picture.  They are forever etched in my mind though.

The girls got pizza and nachos.  Blasphemy!  Pizza and nachos at the Seafood Festival?  BLASPHEMY!!

Obviously their taste buds can't handle anything fancy.

After the festival, they took a dip in the our canel.  Probably their last dip of the 2014 year.

We were also graced with a very high tide.  The highest Beau has ever seen in the 8 years we've been married.

It was a fabulous weekend.

It was a beautiful, cool, fall beach weekend.

This is always our favorite time of year on the coast.

And then these came into my life...

I get hundreds of emails a day.

The normal Pizza Hut coupons, Redbox codes, school information, a lot of junk, etc.

In early August a received an email from "The Kidecals Team".

I was all "who is this and why are they emailing me?  Bless.  Have I ordered something and didn't even know it?"

Actually, they wanted me to try their product.  I was sold on Kidecals IMMEDIATELY when I read this...

"Kidecals are personalized labels that are dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer safe! Plus they stick to any surface! You can use these stickers on clothing, backpacks, tupperware, devices...you name it."

Say what?  Dishwasher, washing machine and dryer safe sticker labels!!??  That is every mother's dream.  We all know what happens to sticker labels in the dryer.  (Hint: Disaster.)

I took them up on their offer to send me a pack of stickers (for free I might add).  I was excited to use Kidecals.

I started browsing through their hundreds of options.  Kidecals has shoe labels, keyboard stickers, chalkboard labels and even wall decals.

I called Big and Bug to the computer to help me choose.

Big wanted her name or monogram.

Bug wanted her name or monogram.

Honestly, I wanted my name or monogram.

I decided on just our last name.

I chose these beautiful Pretty Leaves labels.  I just put our last name on them and did not put any text or writing in the boxes below our last name.   I kept those blank so that I could write whatever I needed to in those spaces.

I ordered them on September 11th and they were here super fast.

The packaging was adorable!

The inside of the opening was even cute!

TA DA!!  Thanks for your order!!

How cute is the mini sample under the opening flap?

Adorable!

Here are our awesome labels!!

Here is our first label.

Emma wanted to put one on her water bottle that she takes to school everyday.

I added her name and her teacher's name.

Perfect!

Caroline wanted to do the same with her water bottle.

Perfect!

They are amazing labels!  They are holding up through tons of handwashing and dishwashing.

We absolutely LOVE them.  What did I ever do without them?

I highly recommend Kidecals.

Head over there now and pick your very own Kidecals out!  You can personalize them any way that you like.  All of the designs are very cute!

If you scroll to the bottom on the home page, you will see where you can receive 15% off your next order by simply signing up to get the Kidecals newsletter!

Happy shopping!!

PS- Let me know what you order :-)  I can't wait for you to see and try them!