The Pittsburgh Adventure #4

The adventure ends . . .

As per usual, our kiddos got sick during the final part of our trip.  Big sis started puking during the reception and Disco and I came back to the hotel to relieve our friends.  It wasn't a pretty sight!  Little man and I took a trip to the pharmacy (with our friends Dr. A & Photog P in tow - thank goodness!).  Big sis slept a lot.  Little man was wired. And in general Disco and I got a bit stressed out for part of the night.  Traveling with sick kiddos is never easy . . .

Thankfully everything fell into place for an uneventful trip home.  The kiddos slept most of it.  Little man started to get sick the night after big sis but we were in a hotel and could deal with the process (until we medicated him too).  And then little man slept a whole lot more.  Sweet little kiddos having sweet dreams:

The Pittsburgh Adventure #3

The wedding!  It was in a beautiful chapel on the University of Pittsburgh campus.  The ceremony was a traditional catholic wedding mass . . . with the addition of a white haired priest playing the ukulele.  Awesome!  I heard later that the bride did not wish for the ukulele solo but it screamed "camp" and Tracy and I couldn't stop giggling about it.

OMG - this couple is in LOVE!  They just ooze love, joy, and happiness and it was truly wonderful being there to view their nuptials.  To watch our friend glide through the crowd in her yummy dress with her new husband by her side - priceless.  Many happy years to the lucky couple!

The Pittsburgh Adventure #2

Once in Pittsburgh we got to see a lot of old friends.  It was wonderful!  My best friend from college and her fiancee came down from Boston to spend time with us and get some extra kiddo love by taking care of big sis and little man during the wedding festivities.  Several of the camp gals made it for the wedding (we missed you big dutch baby momma!).  And in general we found our limited time wandering around Pittsburgh pretty fun - if we had more time I am sure we would have enjoyed a lot more adventures in the city.  I am posting the pics of us wandering near the hotel today and will post the wedding pics tomorrow:

The Pittsburgh Adventure #1

We just got back from our Pittsburgh Adventure tonight!  It was a long but fun trip - and it is great to be home.  The purpose of our trip was to attend the wedding of a friend I met in high school through Camp Aldersgate (a summer camp for mentally and physically challenged children).  And along the way we did a bit of wandering.

The kiddos loved the pool and hotel adventure our first night (and pretty much any other time we stayed in a hotel).  Our intention was to do a bit of camp along the way.  We attempted camping at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. 

The only problem was there was a heat advisory the day we were there and the kiddos were not dealing well with the heat. The cave tours were too long for the our kiddos' clingy moods that day - and we didn't think we could carry them for 1-2 hours through the narrow cave pathways.  We did a bit of day hiking and set up our tent.

 

 

 

By 9pm the temperature was still 90 degrees, the kiddos were down to their undies and still covered in sweat and there was no indication they were going to settle down to sleep any time soon.  So we decided to change gears, pack up, drive for a few hours, and stay at another hotel.  The next set of pictures I have are when we actually hit Pittsburgh.  For now, I just wanted to document the first part of our family vacation for this summer . . . more tomorrow.

Momma Monday #2

My 2nd Monday to be home with the kiddos - I think it is actually the 3rd in a row.  But the first Monday was Memorial day. . . and holidays don't count because everyone is home :)

Today was a wake up early, randomly play around the house, do a few chores, water park, shop kind of day.  And the kiddos refused naps so they BOTH went to bed EARLY.  Awesome!

Here is what little man found interesting about today . . . THE BEER BOX.  He moved it everywhere around the house just to sit in it.  I guess Disco will have someone to help appreciate those hops in the backyard someday:

Big sis found the swim goggles we bought the most interesting part of the day.  We decided to tackle swim lessons when she is older because of her hesitations around water.  But she is steadily warming up to the pool and being more comfortable playing in the water.  The goggles were my way to reward her growing enthusiasm.  It cracked me up that she wore them around the house until the foggy lenses blocked her view:

Father's Day

Father's day 2010 - I wish I could say it was a very relaxing day at home for Disco.  But I had the final for my weekend class, there was a church VBS presentation, and we visited two grandfather's houses.  So poor Disco was truly a father today doing daddy duty with the kiddos and chauffeuring us around.  He did get two quiet hours to watch World Cup matches from the couch.  But that was pretty much his only relaxation time.  The day was topped off with a HUGE piece of Baskin Robbins ice cream cake - so hopefully that made up for the busy day.  Here are some pictures of Disco with the kiddos and I also included the church program. Enjoy!

Wagon

Little man got this wagon from Aunt K for Christmas (I think . . .).  It is supposed to hold legos. Most of the time it just holds little man:

Safety

So I linked to a CDC wiki called "Five minutes or less for health" on the sidebar of this blog a while back.  For the most part I find the topics interesting and somewhat applicable.  Quick reminders for good health and safety.  Some subjects, like prostate health, might not be directly related to little man and big sis at the moment.  But hey, grandparents look at this site too and it might be applicable to them.

The current topic, "Protect your kids", actually had something I hadn't thought of previously.  There was a recommendation to add the poison control phone number directly to your cell phone and land line phones.  We have the magnets on our fridge, but programming the phone number is a great idea for speeding up the call process or to contact poison control when you aren't actually at home. 

Anyway - check out the link if you have a chance.  It has the phone number for the poison control hotline right on the site.  I added the number to my phone today . . .

Monday Mama

This month is filled with a weekend class for me.  The cool thing is that I get to take Mondays off to spend with the kiddos.  I have been in a stressed out "bad mommy" place for a while (if you couldn't tell, it started about January).  This work/school/family combo has been really tough for me to balance - which in turn trickles down stress to my kiddos and my husband.  I am sure you are tired of this same old tune at this point.  But I am full of mommy guilt which combines with limited sleep and being busy so that some days just aren't pretty around here . . .

THIS month, well, Mondays are a treat for all of us!  For example, this past Monday we slept late, waved bye bye to dad, played around the house, I did some minimal cleaning (while being a "monster" and playing hide and seek of course) and then we hit the local water park.  I was really nervous about taking two kiddos who don't swim to the pool by myself.  I don't know why I was worried - our kids are as cautious as Disco and I are.  The biggest adventure they had was walking in water waist deep.  Any time the wave pool started up they ran to the shallow part and sat down for the water to tickle their toes. 

Lunch was at home with daddy - another special treat.  And then during little man's nap, big sis and I had some independent alone time while she watched "Olivia" and I folded clothes.  We decided to made cupcakes which was such a  loud process that little man was forced to join our chaos!

I dream about the stay at home mom lifestyle sometimes even though I know I am not really cut out for a SAHM life.  I've said this before (and I will probably say it again).  But my inner overachiever and science nerd wouldn't allow it.  Some days I accept that and other days I still daydream.  What I really want to achieve is balance which is just a bit out of my reach right now.  I am really thankful we are getting Mondays at home together, though.  Who wouldn't have fun with these silly kiddos???

Laundry Night

Little man likes to run around in his "birthday suit" after bath time.  He also really likes to help me with laundry night.  Combine the two and this is what you get:

There were several other adorable pictures of little man helping - but I will save them for his high school graduation montage . . .

Night Life

Disco and I love the outdoors.  And some of our fondest memories from our childhoods are of outdoor activities.  Catching lightning bugs this week with our own kiddos has been added to the list of priceless experiences.  Enjoy!

Silly Mommy!

Summer is HERE and we are diggin' it!  Outdoors until dark, pool, walks, ice cream truck, lemonade, catching fireflies, and many other sights/sounds/activities that scream "summer" to us.  I am lucky enough to be able to work a flexible schedule in June - mostly because I am taking a daytime weekend class this month.  So Mondays and Fridays we are spending some extra daylight hours enjoying more summer activities. 

What is becoming more and more apparent as time goes on is that I AM TOTALLY UNCOORDINATED.  Not only in scheduling (which involves juggling fun, family, work, school, and sometimes my own social life) but also physically.  We have hit the local water park twice already.  And both times I flipped backwards head first off of floatation devices.  Both times the kiddos totally laughed at my grace!  I am glad I can be their entertainment these days - I guess it is better than TV . . .

More pictures from the birthday party and other activities to come.  Today I just had time for a quick update.