No school Friday!
Scenes from my "balcony" (fire escape)
We stayed in our PJ's and made puppet shows for baby Alice.
Then headed out to the park.
Threw snowballs at dad.
We also found a new friend!
That was that. The next few days are suppose to be 45 degrees!
I am creating a little tutorial to share a little later this week.
I made a new rule this summer and it's working out great. If she wants to watch television or play on the computer I'm fine with it. First she must put in an equal amount of time reading. If she wants to watch a show for an hour, she has to read for an hour first. So far it's really working. She is reading longer chapter books (she was overwhelmed by them before). There's nothin like a little incentive!
I may have to take a different approach with my sweet middle child:)
I still cannot get enough of these salt waters. I just bought the green but I will not show them until I have a pedicure. I was given one for mothers day but I still haven't had time. Pathetic, I know. Hopefully before vacation!
I could just eat these little feet.
I have been pretty busy with week and have a few new projects to share. I just need to take pictures.
Just catching my breath. Little miss Alice is three and a half months old now. She smiles, she coo's she rolls over, and she has us all wrapped around her stubby little finger! If her sisters had it their way they would never go to school. Instead they would lay around and play with her. I am starting to get the hang of this three kids thing. I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. I have loved watching my middle girl become a big sister. She has handled the change really well. Alice is a really easy going baby. She's happy, easy to please and a good sleeper. The trickiest part if the day is getting all of us ready and out the door to school on time. Timing it with nursing is a little hard but if that's all I have to complain about I have it pretty good. I miss my blog and plan to post more often. Please excuse my mommy brain. I can hardly form a complete sentence (then again, what else is new). For now I will leave a few recent photo's.
We had a really nice weekend. It's always so great when the weather starts changing and we can spend more time outside. First thing Saturday morning we headed to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. We went for a morning stroll with some great friends who planning to move soon. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and while it's absolutely stunning and so very greeeeeeeeeeeen, I really don't remember spring flowers like this. 
Our friends are moving to London just about a month before she gives birth. Sadly, the girls have to say "hello" and give this baby some luv while he's still inside his mommy.
And to think, the cherry blossoms aren't even really in full bloom yet.
I didn't know turtles came in packs.
Collecting flower petals!
I love daffodil hill. One of my favorite parts of the garden.
What a little poser. She actually asked me to take this picture.
Hopefully I will have some time this week to work on a few projects I have in the works. Cross your fingers. Have a great Monday
This is the scarf I knit for non other than my lovely self this winter. I am really happy with how it turned out. You can't really tell but it's a simple stockinette stitch. I decided to do a seed stitch at the bottom to stop it from rolling. Well, it didn't work. It's like wearing a big long snake but I love it anyway. I held together a wool, a mohair, and a ribbon. I love the texture and the rust/ bronze/brown with flecks of pink. It's very warm. It was perfect for last Friday because New York finally got dumped on for the first time this year. My kids were off from school so we spent the day sledding in the park. It was my three year olds first time.
This is what we woke up to Friday morning
The park
This snowman actually freaked my kids out. I love her.
After sledding for a few hours they were ready for some hot chocolate from the diner.
Note to self. Always flirt with the waiter!
Have some hot chocolate with that whipped cream!
It worked. This guys a sucker!
OK, I'm back. Before I get started I have to say I am lovin this blogging thing. It is so completely self indulgent. Being a mom with two kids, I need to steal every chance I can get for self indulgance of any kind. Don't worry. Not only do I plan to bore you with my family. I plan to bore you with several other things as well. Sit tight and bear with me. The vacation documenting is almost over. To be honest with you, looking at these pictures of the beach helps me get through the dreary winter and like I said before, this blog is all about me. If you don't like it, go find another blog and don't let my URL hit you in the a$$ on your way out! Now, on to cousin camp.
It all started on a hot summer day in Brooklyn. The bags were packed. Lobo (our dog) was taken to his boarding home. The girls had informed everyone in our neighborhood that we were going out of town (not good). The dry cleaners, the deli, the other deli, the pharmacist, the movie rental store, our neighbors, the ice cream shop, and the office supply store had wished my daughters fair well. The car service came. I was on my own traveling with them because we wanted to spend more time there than my husband could take off. He joined us later. The plane trip went well. There were no tears. They stayed very busy with all the new activities I bought for the airplane. We arrived in Washington and it started off with a bang. The girls were so happy to see their cousins, I don't think I saw much of them for the first three days (not necessarily a bad thing). The first thing I notice when I go out west is how nice it is to have SPACE! The kids kept them selves busy playing in the back yard, riding bikes, playing dress up, Barbies, a few craft projects, late night movies, a few trips to the playground, berry picking, and playing at the beach. I enjoyed spending time with my family, getting a break from my family (ha), sewing my first dress with my mom (the best seamstress I know), going for a run on the track at my old elementary school, sleeping in my childhood bedroom, stomping on pine cones while walking down the street, watching my kids play in my childhood back yard, remembering "good" things about my dad, watching my nephew encourage my daughter when she was learning to ride a bike, watching him work out his frustration with her for taking his best friend and sister away for a few weeks (hang in there guy, sooner or later you won't want anything to do with these girls), staying up way too late laughing with my sister and brother in law, Big Gulps (you actually miss them when you live in a big city), discovering how much TV my mom really watches, watching my brother in law paint his guts out (more on him later), leaving stupid messages on my brothers answering machine (we miss you Ken), Chatting with my sister in law, late night trips to Joann's fabric with our little rock star, and Evergreen trees.
In the post title I mentioned there was a down Right freaky aspect to our family time. Well, here it is. My little sisters silicone breast implant kept flopping out of her shirt onto the sand. She would then discreetly tuck it back into her shirt when she thought no one was looking. I knew the Costco two for one thing was a bad idea from the very begining. How many times do I tell you little sister...you get what you pay for!
I have to tell you about one of my favorite places on the planet. I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging but... I have been lucky to travel to many beautiful places. My husband and I are very adventurous and have a curiouse nature. I think that is one of the biggest things we have in common. We are fascinated by other cultures. We love nature and we just want to see it all. Our adventures have brought us to England, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, and Turkey and The Dominican Republic so far. I am sure there would be many more if it weren't for these two needy little blonde chicks following us around. I know we will get back to our adventures "some day". When the kids are bigger and we have more $$$. Anyway, back to this magical place. It's actually not in any of those places I mentioned. It's right smack dab in the beautiful Northwest where I grew up. On one of our trips west to visit family a while back my husband and I decided to spend a day at the Oregon Coast. I had not been there in about ten years. I remember feeling completly shocked by how absolutely beautiful it was. I had been to there several times in my childhood but I guess I just took it for granted. I just kept walking around saying "wow! This is so amazing!" A few years ago we decided to rent a place in Cannon Beach.
We stayed for a week. It's a small hotel on a clean, quiet beach (My brother would argue with that remark. I suppose you don't know crowded and dirty until you've been to Coney Island on a July weekend). The hotel is right on the beach. I mean, I could see the ocean from the couch in my room. If anyone wants a perfect place to stay at Canon Beach check out schooners cove schoonerscove.com.(cool, it worked. I just learned how to do that). The rooms are nice and clean but they are not amazing. When you stay at Schooners cove you aren't paying for the room. You are paying for beach access. Our room had a kitchenette inside and a grill outside. We spent our time playing in the ice cold water, riding bikes on the beach, flying kite's, building sandcastles, telling spooky stories with cousins around a campfire at night, roasting marshmallows, eating saltwater taffy, looking for seashells and sea life on Haystack Rock, checking out art galleries in the town. It's a completely different beach experience. You are there to enjoy the beauty. It is not a scene at all. You don't wear a swim suit. You need a sweat shirt. It got warm but the wind is always blowing so your never uncomfortable.
We spent part of our trip at my sisters house in Washington. The girls got to have some special time with their Grandma and cousins. They joined us at the beach for a few days. After our time in Washington we went to Utah to visit my other sister (you'll hear more about that chick later). It was so much fun. We ate too much and laughed our heads off (what else is new). I am so happy that my kids have such a special place in their heart for their cousins. I hope they will look back on their childhood with fond memories of these trips (because they are costing us a hell of a lot of money). I am tired, I need to go to bed. I will finish this post tomorrow.
