Aunt Rebekah's Visit

I am getting behind on a lot of things right now, and this happens to be one of them. With the weather being nice and the kids wanting to be outside playing, it makes it hard to get much done indoors. Anyhow, I will be trying to gain some semblance of motivation back this week and I'm starting with the blog, since writing is more fun than putting away laundry by a long shot. 

For Memorial Day weekend we had a nice visit from Andrew's sister, Rebekah. The kids usually pronounce her name "Ree-bekah" which is funny, and endearing. It was over her birthday celebration time too, so we enjoyed using that as an excuse to indulge in foods of all kids. We stopped at the outlets on the way to see Andrew (he was working out of town) and ended up eating caramel apples with M&M's on them from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Also chocolate croissants from Au Bon Pain. So good.

That night we ate at Red Robin. It's not only so yummy, but when kids get impatient, the music is so loud that no one really cares. Ending with balloons. 

What is a birthday without a cake? This is not just any cake, mind you. An ice cream cake from DQ that is topped with 4 different kinds of treats. And more fudge. Wowza. We were at the hotel so we improvised using trays and plastic ware the first night and cups the next day. It doesn't really matter what an ice cream cake is put in or on. It's worth it. We also had to eat enough that it would fit in the tiny hotel freezer. No worries. We did.

I forgot to get a picture of Andrew and Rebekah together, so this is proof that we actually did see him while she was here. All the boys in plaid shorts. 

Ella has really sensitive eyes and it is apparent in any picture we take outside. We need to start remembering the glasses. 

Subs at Quiznos with Peter! 

The last evening and Ella with her lovely socks. 

I have said it before and I'll say it every time, but we always appreciate so much having family come see us. The memories made are priceless and it makes time go by much easier when Andrew is busy. Thank you for taking the time to fly out here to see us Rebekah, look forward to seeing you again later this summer!

Into the City!!

It's been 4 years of living in PA and we still hadn't made it out to NYC. A short 2 1/2 hour drive is all, but with three kids, it takes about that long to get up the nerve to take on the adventure. So we finally did. May 18 was the day we embarked on our one night journey into the heart of the Big Apple. We all had a wonderful time. We stayed right across the street from the United Nations building in the Millennium UN 

hotel. 

The view from our hotel room. We were on the 30th floor.

The UN building.

We were to meet up with our friends who have lived there for 3 years for residency, as well as have dinner with other friends who happen to be staying in the city that week as well. The fun thing about Facebook is that when we posted we were going there, they quickly commented that they would also be there. We could have completely missed out! 

Andrew went to Med school with Melissa, (far left). 

Annie's husband was in Andrew's med school class as well.
She and a few of other girls helped me survive the 4 years of craziness.

There was a mishap that resulted in the breaking of the stroller we had borrowed from friends, leaving the three of the kids to walk about 15 blocks that night. They were troopers, but we were all ready to eat by the time we met up. We ate at a wonderful little Italian restaurant between Park and Madison Ave on 61st. It's called Serafina's. The kids barreled through their amazing pizza like there was no tomorrow. I admit, I stole a few of their slices. My pasta was also very tasty. They had high chairs for the kids too. We enjoyed catching up with friends that evening.

The kids got treats after dinner and we boarded the metro back to the hotel.

Riding the metro was much less intimidating than you might think. Especially with friends who did it just earlier that day. They showed us how to buy the tickets and ride. All the kids were free. We ended our ride at Grand Central Station. It was 2 blocks from our hotel. What a beautiful place. The ceiling alone is worth going to see.

In Grand Central Station.

We were able to borrow a small stroller the hotel happened to have. I'm glad we asked. It was a foot saver for the kids who took turns in it the next day. After a night sleep and an early morning wake up (gotta love kids sleeping in the same room as you), we headed out by 7:30am to catch the metro. 

The view looking up from the base of the Empire State Building.

Our first stop was a visit to our friend's apartment. What a cute little place. They've been so creative with 325 sq. feet. There are days when I miss our little apartment in CA, like cleaning days, but it would be super small with 3 kids. We got breakfast at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (yum) and headed to Central Park, 2 blocks from their place. 

This is the famous Boathouse as seen in many movies and shows.

The kids had a lot of fun roaming the hills and rocks in the park. You could really spend days exploring the place.

From the Park we walked down the "mall" where many movie scenes are filmed with people sitting on benches and such. We headed to FAO Shwartz where we were bombarded with not so many toys, but a giant candy store. The kids got lollipops and I bought a little taxi car. Apparently that wasn't what Peter wanted, so we left the store with him screaming loudly, "I wanted a different toy!!" Like something from a movie itself. We got more looks than I prefer to have...ever. I will not be taking my kids in a toy store again for a long time.

The hotel from "Home Alone" the movie.  Right across from FAO.

At least he was happy going into the store. I mean, who wouldn't be with a real life toy soldier?

We ate lunch at Bill's restaurant. It's right in Rockafeller center. It was very good. I had their burger off the kids' menu :) and shared mini corn dogs, which happen to be the best corn dogs I've ever had. Very yummy shakes too. 

30 Rock!

Heading into Times Square. It was just like you've seen on TV. The shops, the people, the taxis, the craziness. I am told that locals try to avoid this part of the city, and I could see why. It's a great place to see and experience, but by this time, the kids were wearing down and the weather was warming up. John fell asleep in the stroller and slept through all of it! 

You can see Peter is falling apart and Ella's had enough with the pictures.

We said goodbye to our wonderful tour guide and friend after this and parted ways on the metro. Our next stop was going down to see the Freedom Tower construction near Ground Zero. We couldn't actually get to ground zero because of the construction, but it really puts the event in perspective. I remember being in college, running on the treadmill at the gym and seeing first hand news of the second plane hitting the twin towers. Everyone in the gym stopped what they were doing to watch. I went back to school and we all spent the rest of the day in front of the TV in class. What a sobering experience to go and see where it all took place. Right in the middle of the city. The buildings they are putting up are amazing. 

Another ice cream in Battery Park. This is the overlook to the Statue of Liberty. It was still far away, but we weren't planning to take a ferry out to see it. There are just too many things to do in NYC for one day, and that's all the time we had this round. 

Our last picture! 

We talked about trying to catch a taxi back to the car because the walk to the metro and back to the car was a long way, but wouldn't you know, there were none in any of the places we stopped. The kids were toast and really, we were too. The metro is much cheaper though and we survived it one more time, but I don't think I've ever been happier to see my van in that underground lot. If you are up for an adventure, do some planning and go to the city. I can't believe we had waited this long, but after going with 3 kids, I'm thankful we didn't try it when they were littler. 

Great memories for now though.

Using Wool

Aside from traveling and being busy with the general demands of life, I have had a few moments here and there to whip up a few little goodies. I've had a stash of wool felt for a long time now and I am finally making a dent in the pile of colors. It is Moda Wool. I found it years ago in Alaska while at a crafting retreat. At the time I was making a quilt with small circles and needed (one piece :) some wool. The stack just belted out to me in the fabric store in Kenai. Here I am about 7 years later, still finding ways to use it.

I'm also working on dwindling down my yarn and flannel by making hats again and baby cloths too. They are being sold at my friend's shop as well as given as baby gifts. A while ago, I had asked online if anyone had a bike that would be my daughter's size. A friend responded and the only thing she wanted in return for the bike was a baby gift for a friend. Thus, the purple beanie and cloth. I love when trades can work like that. Win. Win. 
I find that making things calms my nerves. Even when every kid is into something in the process, or even trying to help me, when I can stand up and see a finished little tid bit of creativity it just makes me smile. 

For a Bee Changed photo shoot, we put one of the clips I made on this little darling.

Little Mia makes one cute little hair clip model. It worked perfect with the dress :)

For the end of the year, my daughter and I made tote bags for her teachers. Two C's and one A. We used permanent marker to stencil the letters on the outside and put goodies on the inside. She picked out York mint patties for each of them, as well as a Starbucks gift card, stationary with their letter on them and a drawing made by the little one who was giving them.

One Special Weekend

This weekend we had a really nice time as a family. It was much needed after a couple of really hectic weeks around here with Andrew being gone, on call, and just busy at work. I feel like April and May have been wildly busy and I know this is just going to be the way it is with kids in school, but being the first time around, it has seemed crazy. Friday night didn't really go at all as we had thought, but it ended up alright. We were cleaning out the garage and basement for the town dumpster day and Andrew ended up getting cut and needing to go get stitched up. The kids and I hung out at the hospital until he was done. A friend was getting ready for a car trip and ended up with a dead battery before leaving. Andrew went over and helped jump the car so they could leave. It was a good lesson for the kids because we were able to tell them that if it is in our ability to help others, we do it even if we are hungry. By the time we went to dinner, it was late, but we thought we could make it work. Well, it didn't. 2 spilled cups of water, and one child falling out of their chair onto the floor later, we got the check and went home. Food was really good though. Saturday morning Andrew got all the junk out of our house (mostly left here by previous owners) and we now have more space in both the garage and basement. All the cleaning out made us hungry, so we roasted hot dogs and made s'mores since it was almost 80 degrees and sunny. That night we went on a bike ride around town, the first one we've done with all 5 of us. We all had a good time. I cleaned a lot of that day and tried getting the kitchen back together after not having much time to do any of that last week. We were all rewarded with ice cream out that night. Sunday, I had to be at church early for singing, and Andrew got all the kids out the door by 8am! They were rewarded with Dunkin Donuts for doing a good job with him. We bought plants at the store and while he napped with the kids, I planted them and finished cleaning. I'm sure it seems silly that part of what I would want to do for Mother's Day is get the house back in order, but it really was needed for all of our sakes. We had friends over for mexican food and ended the night listening to the kids laugh and play themselves to sleep. I did have to go up and stifle the screaming at one point, but the laughing was there until they were out. 

This Mother's Day I have so much to be thankful for. Healthy, wonderful kids, loving husband, great Mom and Mother in Law, the ability to spend time as a family, good food, time to get things done, flowers, and so much more. I am blessed. 

These are the gifts my kids literally made "by hand." They each have such wonderful teachers, at church and in school. I am so glad for the work they did to make these. 

John was so proud of his plant that he couldn't wait to give it to me after his class. Peter almost didn't make his pot holder because he wanted to be with Ella in her class that we were teaching in. His teacher told him he was going to do something secret and special for me and he went over to participate. Ella made my bonnet that I wore at her Mother's Day tea. It is hanging in the kitchen until further notice. I love that my kids like to be creative. One day we were making something and Ella said, "Mom, I'm...fre....cree...make...what's that word?" "Creative." "Oh yeah!" She smiled. "Creative."

Andrew's gift to me...we are going as a family to NYC this coming weekend!! I am beyond excited. 4 years living less than 3 hours away and all our kids are finally old enough to feel okay taking 3 of them there. More on that for sure.