looking back.

you know.  looking back on a vacation is actually pretty hard.  we've only been back less than a week, but it seems like forever-ago that we were gone.  such is vacation.  how fast is goes.

so i thought i'd think about some of our best moments. 

dumping my chair and myself on the beach and digging my toes in the sand.  of course this was after hauling the littles and all our stuff down to the beach and slathering them in sunscreen.

walking into town for walks on the boardwalk and ice cream.

trips to funland for rides and giggles.

niccola pizza.  kohr brother's ice cream.

fun with cousins.  softball games.

watching the littles run and jump in the ocean.  

eating fresh crabs - well crabcakes for me.

evening marshmallow roasts on the beach.

sun, sand and water.

finally landing and getting back home!

the great sangria event.

this one might be book worthy.

it's been a long day. by 10 am it had already reached the "it's going to be a long day" point. by 5 it should have been over. i'll have to admit it was my fault. i was upstairs. doing what i can't even tell you. little two was downstairs. by himself. that should have been enough of a warning. a rambunctious 2 year old. left to his own devices. never a good thing. a today definitely not a good thing.

i only wish i had thought to grab my camera.

let me recap. i come downstairs, to some quiet. another bad bad sign. see him. jumping in something red and liquid on the wood floors. my eye wanders up to the refrigerator. where i see red liquid pouring from the closed doors of the white, yes white refrigerator. "oh my god" oh my god" i shout. trying to think what was happening - what could that liquid be?????

i rush to the refrigerator. pull the door open. more rushes out. the box (yes box don't say anything - doctored up it was good.) new box at that of red sangria is full out open. the spout has been turned all the way open. the sangria is pouring out. all over. the drawers are full. food is floating. the pool of sangria is turning into a lake on the kitchen floor. max is still enjoying himself.

paper towels. towels. change(s) of clothing. mopping. sponging. cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer - somehow it got in there, too. laundry. mr. clean sponges. this is how we spend our friday evening. and it's still slowly dripping out of the molding around the door. light pink stains on the bottom. maybe this will result in a new fridge. no more red sangria. ever.

just when you think.

there might be a glimmer of hope with society. that people might be getting friendlier and nicer and more polite to one another you go and board an airplane with small children. my thought this week was that people were getting nicer. i noticed they were holding doors open for others, saying please and thank you. i wasn't completely convinced mind you, but i say it as a positive.

and then we went and did it.

we boarded a plane with the littles. hey we paid for our tickets. we have the right to travel just as much as the next person. unfortunately the majority of the people on the plane didn't seem to agree with us. we we're ready. we had backpacks for each little. new games, new books, new colors, new treats. we thought it would be ok. we hoped it would be ok. we prayed that it would be ok. that we could just make it through 3 hours and we'd be home. the worst part of the trip over.

well. it wasn't ok. little one fussed. she kicked the seat in front of her. she whined. but she stayed in her seat and didn't scream or cry. i will at least give her that. little two on the other hand did not do so well. it didn't help that we were delayed out of reagan national. it didn't help that once we got on the plane we were stuck in a sequence delay on the ground because of weather. it didn't help that people were giving us dirty looks and sneers before we even boarded our plane. i didn't care initially. well i did, but i was more concerned with us getting home. i was offended when people were making comments - "this is going to be a long flight" "hope they're not by me" the sneers, the stares, the "why don't you do something to that child looks" (like we weren't trying). we got our seats. we settled in. the one flight attendant was beyond rude. the people behind us were making choking motions towards little two. he screamed. for 2 hours. he kicked. he fussed. he got out of his seat. he got back in. he got passed back and forth across the aisle. he got walked. taken to the bathroom. fed. watered. played with. everything we could come up.

we tried people. we did our damnedest. we were stuck in a blue and gold tube with wings at 33 thousand feet. what did you want us to do? throw him out? could you have cut us some slack? helped us out when things got thrown in the aisle? not glared at him and made him cry more? not glared at us? did you not notice when i shed some tears out of frustration? have you never flown with children? did you not care that we saw your rude motions? heard your comments at baggage claim? you know karma is a bad thing. i hope it bites you back. i hope you -pregnant glaring woman, are blessed, too with a child that screams on airplanes. i hope you, older couple making choking motions has an experience like this with your grand children. i hope you over weight man drinking vodka tonics on the plane kicking a binky up further under your seat than giving it back to us has screaming kids on all your flights.

thanks again for reaffirming to me that society isn't getting any nicer. making certain that people are not pleasant. and you know what? as i type this there is a story on good morning america about a woman being kicked off a plane with an unruly 2 year old. i'm sure she didn't get any empathy from her fellow passengers either. what about kicking off those grouchy whining, complaining adults on planes?

interesting choices.

so i know.  pretty much anything goes at the beach.  i know the magazines paint glamorous pictures of what you should wear to the beach, but reality says a bathing suit and cover up.  i don't know anyone who tromps through the sand in fashionable shoes; no flip flops cut it best.  and for fancy hats and sparkly coverups, please.  who wants to deal with that stuff in the wind and with suntan lotion.  so maybe in the movies, but not in reality.  

but there should be something to be said for interesting choices in beach apparel.  here's the best one of the week.  check out the argyle socks.  perfect beach attire...pics that i've been snapping (incognito) mind you behind my bucket hat (that covers just enough of my face to ward off the evil sun, but not too much that you can't tell i've been somewhere).  thinking?  i think not.

picky. picky. picky.

so i was at starbucks today.  kids and husband in the car.  i was in a bit of a rush.  unfortunately i was at the slowest starbucks in the world.

in front of me was a girl.  ordered a venti mocha chip frappucino.  chocolate chip cookie and chocolate muffin.  i ordered the usual - 2 grande skinny lattes and 2 horizon organic vanilla milks. waited, waited, waited.  the girl in front of me devoured the chocolate chip cookie, started in on the muffin.  finally her venti mocha chip frappucino was ready.  topped with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate.  she said, "so you're putting chocolate on these again?"  "we've never stopped putting it on," said the starbucks girl.  "oh."  "my stomach can't handle that chocolate." please keep in mind, she had just devoured a chocolate chip cookie and snarfed down a chocolate muffin.  seriously?  a little chocolate drizzle would put her over the edge?  the barista had to then remake the entire drink.  at the slowest starbucks on the planet.  25 minutes later, i emerge with my 2 drinks....

the pirate.

so, i've been meaning to write about the patch. little two's patch to be specific. but i just couldn't get myself around to it. could it be that it's because i spend much of my time now telling him to leave it alone? to not take it off? to ask where it went? to getting another out and on him? this is how i seem to spend my days lately.

little two is wearing the patch now. well, trying to. we're supposed to go for full-time patching. yes. full-time. that means as soon as he gets up to when he goes to bed at night. impossible for a two year old. impossible. yesterday we went through 10 patches. that's not the record though. that would be 15. in one day. they come in boxes of 20 and cost $5.99 a box. you do the math.

we visit the pediatric opthamologist again on thursday. hopefully we'll get the go-ahead to patch less and get glasses. we'll see. i think what will actually happen is trouble. i think it will be very evident to her that we haven't even patched enough. so i'm sure it will be patch patch patch. and glasses. i can't imagine how i'll keep those on him or keep him from breaking them. i'd be willing to bet they're broken before we even get them home. arghhhh. as the pirate says.

sand in your eye.

so this week is summer vacation for us.  well at least until august.  we're spending our week at the beach.  lots and lots of fun.  sand in your hair. sand in your eye.  sand in your suit.  fun. fun. fun. games. rides. shells. sunshine and surf. crabs and ice cream.  pizza and beach fries.  walks and bike rides.  a classic week at the beach.  the kids love it.  i love the relaxation.  i love the sun and the suntan that comes with it.  the surf and fun.

vacation bible school.

today.  i volunteered at madeline's vacation bible school.  yep volunteered.  at vacation bible school.  i felt a bit out of place.  i mean it's not like i know any bible verses or anything. but i figured i can do this.  she adores vbs.  loves her friends.  loves the fun.  the silliness.  and she's actually learning some stuff.  so anyway.  it was actually fun.  even though i was assigned to the music room.  the music room.  everyone knows i'm not exactly musical. but it was a good time.  a good time with 100 preschool and kindergarteners. learning the songs.  doing the motions. taking snack and potty breaks.  it's interestingly hard to get preschoolers to sit on their square.  easy to get them to lie down on it, but not sit on it.  easy to get them to shout.  not easy to get them to sing.  cute to watch their reactions to words and movement.  it's fun to see life through little eyes.  fun to feel like you're making a difference.  or trying to.

statue of limitations.

so really.  what is the statue of limitations on t-shirts?  i don't mean wearing them until they wear out.  i mean how long are they viable? i was going to the gym today and was packing up my gym bag.  looking through my t-shirts, i discovered one that is dated 1994.  international mountain biking championship in vail.  doesn't seem that long ago.  

now, this t-shirt is in excellent condition.  hardly even worn.  but is there an age limit?  should you not wear a t-shirt that supports an event more than 2 years old?  3? 4? 10? besides clearly aging you, they are attention getters.  i'm just confused and self-conscious i suppose. in the end i didn't wear it.  in the end, to be honest, i didn't even make it to the gym.

looking forward.

to summer. i know it's already june 9th. but this is a post i've been meaning to write for awhile now. things we're looking forward to this summer.

little one is anxious for our beach vacation. spending time playing with cousins, grandparents and sand crabs. riding the rides on the boardwalk. eating ice cream. going to the pool. going to vacation bible school.

little two is exciting about riding in the beep beep car, swinging on the swingset, going to the zoo and swimming.

daddy is already counting down to the start of the college football season. summer means only two months to go. his vacation out east and our trip to montana.

i'm looking forward to digging my toes into the sand, digging in the garden, ice cream, shorts, suntan lotion, a trip to montana for a special wedding and sunshine.

that's what we're looking forward to. what about you?

cnn.

i love poor editing.  especially when i can catch it online. i know ridiculous.  but still there's something sweet about finding a big misprint, typo, or just stupid error on cnn.com.  take the first picture.  if you'll read the third paragraph, you'll see that cnn refers to the final primaries in south dakota and michigan.  michigan?  really?  i think it was montana, cnn.  michigan if you'll recall held their primary months ago and the votes didn't count.  much to hillary's chagrin.  the second picture is just a typo in the developing story line.  seriously?  do people get paid for these errors?  after working in the marketing industry for years, i know the importance of catching these typos.  

while i did not work on this project, i find it terribly funny.  take the example of a 529 college savings plan mailing that was sent to parents of small children.  included your basic 1-800 response number.  unfortunately that number was for porn.  i still find that humorous.  

thinking.

of all the things i need to get done, but am not doing. laundry. cleaning. phone calls. work. planning for our trip. oh. yes... that's what i'd rather be doing. i don't care how many kids you have. if you have kids and are going to board an airplane, it takes some planning. no more just throwing some clothes in a bag and heading to the airport. there are decisions to be made. backpacks to pack. full. i mean full. what to take on the plane in case of melt downs. what bad. horrible food will satiate them. keep them calm. maybe put them to sleep? what toys will entertain for three hours? what blankets to take? what back up outfits? what strollers? what car seats? what books? what? what? what? what are we thinking?

the last time we flew with the littles was disastrous. little two screamed for three hours. and i don't mean on and off. i mean the whole way. fussing. wiggling. wriggling. screeching. screaming. kicking. pounding. throwing. i'm surprised they didn't ground our flight, the noise was so bad. some fellow passengers were kind. bringing us anything they had to try to calm him. but there was no calming to be done. he wanted to scream and scream he did. until the last 5 minutes of the flight.

what are we thinking?

brownies.

so.  i've been trying to be good.  trying to eat better, work out more.  you know.  the usual get ready for summer stuff.  i have been good.  didn't even taste the ice cream sandwiches we made the other day.  no cookies.  no sweets.  no nothing bad.  

but alas!  look what i've run across.  probably not new to everyone, but new to me.  vitabrownies.  yum. yum. yum.  just what i needed.  packed with lots of healthy stuff plus chocolate.  they are divine.  divine i tell you.  i can't wait to try some of their other products -  like muffin tops.  

thursday.

so i was thinking.  i haven't updated my blog in awhile.  i haven't felt like i had anything to write about.  but i guess i do.  today is ohbeehive's birthday.  a happy reason to celebrate.  happy birthday to ohbeehive!  today is the first day of summer camp.  oh happy day to me!  hi ho hi ho. the littles are off to camp...  i found a dress today for my brother's montana nuptials.  well at least i think i did.  i'll need to get some second opinions.  but at least i have something in hand.  it's not raining.  well at least not right now.  i'm going to a party tonight.  yeah!  out by myself!  vacation is fast approaching.  

so there.  something.  just not anything interesting to write about!