#11 Travel to a New State

I'm still (slowly) checking things off on my 30 before 30 list.  While I posted pictures from Nikole's big day, I forgot to mention that this also met one of my 30 before 30's since her wedding was in Connecticut and I've never been.

My crew and I were literally astonished with how absolutely lovely Connecticut and the greater New England area are; the people are fantastic, the food is delicious and the houses are legit cottages.  As in these tiny little bungalows that are set just off of the woods-edge that all seem to have little patches of wild-flowers-- nestled right beneath their perfectly shuttered windows, that are so perfect it's overwhelming.

For us that are almost smack dab in the middle of the East Coast, it seemed almost like a different country.  After visiting Connecticut, one thing's certain, I'm looking forward to exploring more of New England whenever I get the chance.

An Announcement

I've decided to do another 30 day blog challenge starting July 1st.  Feel free to submit topics for posts.

Here's the official press release:

We Did Old Timey Stuff

By 10:00 am yesterday, I realized that if we didn't get out of the house for a long time, we were all headed for Meltdown Town.  Not knowing exactly what to do, I decided that we should step outside of our comfort zone (literally) and instructed Jim to take us to the closest old-timey farm-ey thing-ey I knew of.  According to the info posted at the entrance, this farm has been in existence since around 1770 and continues to be a working farm by way of volunteers and reasonable entrance fees for children over 4; which brings me to the first highlight of the day:

No entrance fees for the boys, which meant that we spent a total of $16 bucks... 

and that ain't bad.

Here's how it works, you and your entourage (did they have entourages in old timey days? probably not...) navigate the well-worn pebble path that's nestled among the animal stables, pig slopping area and overgrown brush in order to make your way to the "homestead."  As luck would have it, a goat was chowing down as we made our way through and the boys went nuts.  They were all "a ggggggggoooooooooaaaaaaatttttttttttt!" (said in the manner in which any sportscaster commentating on a professional soccer match would announce a goal) and were amazed by the fact that the goat did not give a single ounce of care that we were there and just kept right on chowing down as we rumbled our umbrella strollers past.

The more we walked, the hotter it got, so it was nice when we finally got to the "homestead" part of the farm,  where the second highlight of the day occurred:

As we rounded the bend, 2 gentlemen got up from their logs and started approaching us.  

Cullen paused and whispered, "Santa," and stood frozen, not knowing what to do.  

It was such a sweet moment and it reminded me of an innocence that every-once-in-a-while, 

I'm fortunate enough to be a part of.

After Cullen's initial shock wore off, we were able to strike up a conversation with them, despite my unwillingness to "play by the rules."  (Meaning that I recognized and acted like they were actually the original settlers.) The 2 men tried to stay in character and would passive aggressively correct me while we spoke, so it went a little something like this:

Me: So, it sure is hot right now, what did they do to cool off?

Old Timey Man #1: Oh, well sometimes we will dunk our straw hats into the stream in order to cool off, but as soon as the heat gets oppressive, we call it a day and go fishing.

I just couldn't do it though.  Eventually, they gave up too, but I mean, come on, get a load of what this old timey guy was drinking and he's wantin' me to play along?  I don't think so; fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Since we were the earliest "guests" of the day, we pretty much had free reign on the homestead and they entertained my questions with only a few persnickety moments, which brings me to my third and final highlight of the day:

Old timey reenacters are very particular about their craft 

and if they have to stray too far off of script or out of character, it can get a little cray. 

Old Timey Man #2:  Welcome to the blacksmith shop, I'm the blacksmith.

Me: That's great, what are you going to be making?

Old Timey Man #2: Well, it's 'simple.'

Me: puzzled look

Old Timey Man #2: I can't really make anything, so I'm just going to heat up this piece of iron and then I'm going to hit it.

Me: Sounds great!

And that's just what he did.  He heated up that piece of iron, then banged on it with a hammer and made it into a hook.  It was a little crooked and didn't look like it could hold much weight, but the show he put on while doing it was fantastic.

Eventually, he invited Cullen to stoke the fire, which would cause it to dance up in front of the blacksmith's face.  At first, Cullen was reluctant, but after we reassured him that it was all good, he spun the little handle with all his might and was as proud of his results.

As we blasted the air conditioning on our ride home, Jim, Cullen and I decided two things: 1. Having air conditioning is amazing and 2. That we were definitely coming back, but just not on a 90 degree day.

MomMom and PopPop's Boat

I'm a land-lover myself, but on the occasion that we have the good fortune to venture down to Jim's parent's boat, it's always a good time.  For a split second, I'm all, "we could buy a boat and live on it," but then I remember that I'm a land-lover and scrap that idea.

However, my children and my husband seem to have some instinctual connection with the sea, a fascination that is amazing, but scary when they're clamoring and fighting to run to the front of the boat (which I know has some fancy-pants nautical name that I can't be bothered to google right now, which is another reason I can't own a boat; it's called front, back, left and right, people, why reinvent the wheel?) as fast as they can.  As a result of this love, Cullen proceeded to kick and scream for a half hour as we pulled out of the marina, only stopping when he eventually fell asleep.


As soon as he was off, Jim and I knowingly looked at one another, agreeing that we'd be back in a few weeks, because that's how we do; making sure each childhood demand for more adventure becomes a tradition.

 Thanks MomMom and PopPop for a wonderful day!

Father's Day 2012

I didn't plan to take a week's long sabbatical from this little blog, but it happened and I didn't get a chance to document and gush about how great it was to honor my father (and hero) and Jim (my sons' hero).  It was a great day- a little too busy for my taste, but that's to be expected since I prefer our weekends to go at a sloth's pace since the weekdays go at the speed of light- filled with bonding, toasting, honoring new dads, novice dads, veteran dads and people who provide love, kindness and guidance to our children as if they were their dad.

So, here's to all of the dads out there, 

raising children ain't easy... 

but someone's gotta do it!

Tip #2

I'm a pack-rat, except when it comes to my kids and their treasures; then I'm a full blown hoarder.  Which really means that I keep and then grow attached to every schnibble of construction paper with random crayon slashes.  So, in an attempt to become more organized, I've devised a system-- which really means that I saw this on Pinterest but I actually did it, so that counts for something and is the reason why it's now my tip.

Tip #2: When my children bring home notes from their teachers or create meaningful artwork, I throw them into a box.  Then about every other month, I put them into a plastic sleeve in a binder that I keep for each child and  wha-lah; a perfectly organized little art portfolio for all of their masterpieces.

Before = a messy pile that could sit on our kitchen island for weeks.

After = artwork in plastic sleeves...

Compiled into individual binders.

Where Have You Been

Yesterday, I watched one of my best friends in life marry the man that she's crazy in love with; 

then we all watched as they grooved their way 

back down the aisle as husband and wife to Rihana's Where Have You Been.

 It was nothing short of awesome.  

When in doubt, ask someone who will tell you like it is.

Probably should've done a quick background item check...
At least the trashcan filled with wine bottles didn't make the shot.

If I know Nikole, she's saying to herself, "I'm not a policeman, I'm a princess!"

Behind every Bride-- and in this case, next to, is an awesome Maid of Honor.

And gorgeous... I forgot to mention that she's a gorgeous Maid of Honor.

This one's for Bobby's mum.

Lovely ladies.

Ok, so here's the deal.  2 nights before the wedding, I made Jim spray tan me.  He did a good job, but spray tan being what it is, I was streaky as a mother and my friends being who they are, thought it was hilarious and made fun of me.  Well, suck it y'all, it looks pretty decent in these pictures... just don't look at my tan foot.

One of the nicest thing about this weekend was rediscovering why we all became friends 11 years ago; mostly because we're fabulous, but also because we're good looking, nice people.

Pretty sure every Bridesmaid that wears a strapless dress has a picture where they look naked.  Here's mine.

Not to ruin the moment, but doesn't the Officiant look like Janeane Garofalo?

As Jim loves to say, you can take the girl out of Pittsburgh, but you can't take Pittsburgh out of the girl.

The nacho bar was legit delicious.

Can you tell which one is wearing a hairpiece?

Don't let the mustaches deceive you, this wedding party is all 2012, y'all.

Isn't she beautiful?

So, I pretty much Uncle Buck-ed every picture I took.  And what is Uncle Buck-ing a picture you might ask.
Well, it means that I just focused in on two (or more) people during a large group shot, and wha-lah.  A two person shot.

He's one lucky guy.

And she didn't do too bad herself.

This was a posed kiss though.

Mr & Mrs. S.

Oh, so this is where I'll Have Another went to...

I sincerely hope my sons are this cool when they grow up.

I desperately wanted these bangs, but we all know how that turned out...

If I'm ever lucky enough to have a daughter, I hope we have a relationship like they do. 

She's a lady in the street.

These two legitimately are Crazy In Love.

It's a good thing this was early, things got a wee bit slippery on the dance floor as the night wore on.

I heart the 15260.

And the rest of these people heart the people from 15260.

And this was just icing on the cake for Bob's mum.

She makes her laugh and that makes me happy.

It feels good to be back together again.

I was going to crop this, but I didn't have the heart to cut off Nikole's fierceness.  Work it girl.

I inappropriately love him.

We love one another so much, that we save each other's lives... literally.

I heart these two.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your day, Baby Girl.  I love you.