A birthday fit for a princess

I did not greatly desire to have a birthday party for H this year. Sue me.

Mostly because I'd made plans to take her for lunch at the American Girl Store on her actual birthday and have a fun day at MOA with family. That's to come Monday.

But, H has been talking about her 4th birthday party since B had his 2nd birthday party back in August. So I didn't have much of a choice. I didn't want to let her down.

So I arranged her birthday part - she wanted Ariel. I invited all her friends and family via electronic email which I will never use again. I'd say at least 60% did not see or receive their invites. Bah humbug!

I tried to keep it as low key as possible, for my own sanity.

Orginally I had planned to drive up to my dad's right after the party, but that started to feel overwhelming and stressful, and since J was home due to a delay, I decided I'd rather just wait and drive up tomorrow.

By far a good call!

H was thrilled with her party though. And really, that's all that matters. Right?

I got pretty sidetracked and didn't take as many pictures as I typically do at their parties, I was too busy socializing.

 

 

 

 He was totally ready for the piñata!

 

Piñata goodies!

 Reading with Grandma Julie after the party died down.

 

 



All boys, or just my boy?

I noticed at Christmas that I had a much more difficult time coming up with stocking stuffers for B than I did for H.

And telling other people what to get him.

But that's really how it's been since birth.

I thought maybe it was just me who had a harder time with coming up with gift ideas, until J returned home from Hawaii yesterday for a few days and brought B a little airplane and H a flower clip and looked at me and said, "You have no idea how hard it is to find something for B!"

Oh, but I do!

Since we don't do most plastics,  unless I know they're for sure safe (Green Toys, Lego, a few others), that limits a lot of "traditional" boy toys like super her figurines, etc. He was really into trains for a short time, and maybe he'll like them again, but it seems that shipped sailed, and fast!

He has a handful of cars and trucks, but honestly, H plays with them more than he does.

He likes to paint. And destroy things.

Okay, mostly he just likes to destroy things.

And build things.

H plays with her toy food. She loves her baby dolls and could spend all day dressing them up. She could spend all day dressing herself up, ha!

B likes dress up. He likes to dance with H. He likes to help me cook. He loves reading. He really loves watching TV, but I won't typically let him do that all day.

He loves his instruments. Like really loves those.

But when it comes to a time where it's appropriate to buy the kids gifts, I'm just clueless with him.

I've been getting a head start on Easter Baskets this year (not really, since it's like 2 weeks away!). I got some great ideas from friends who suggested outdoor things I'd be buying anyway. Bubbles, (lead-safe) chalk, etc. And I will for sure get some for their baskets.

And I ordered B some Bubble Guppies pjs and H a matching outfit for her and a baby doll. I picked up a firetruck for B from a friend since he's really into firetrucks at the moment, and I will likely go get H the child-sized Ergo for her dolls. And there was a necklace I wanted to grab for her, and maybe a few outfits for her dolls because that's easy.

But B? I don't know. What else do I put in his basket?

What else, just in general?

And it would be one thing if this were the only time I had this dilemma, but it's all the time.

He's just so different from H. Which is a great and beautiful thing. I love B to pieces and the amazing, crazy person he is.

But H is my speed. She's so much like me, but better, that I feel like I totally know what to do with her all the time.

B, not so much. Most days I feel like someone put me in a car, blind, during a blizzard, and said not to cross the yellow line.

Yeah, okay.

So I guess the truth is, it goes deeper than just stuff. Obviously.

He's this awesome little boy. Who keeps me on my toes for certain. Opinionated, sweet, an absolute monkey.

But he's still a conundrum to me.

But I guess I've never understood boys anyway. Just because he's mine shouldn't really make it any different, eh?

15 things I learned today

I have spent 3.5 hours of my day sitting through gymnastics and dance classes today.

Things I've learned:

1.) H is hella good at gymnastics.
2.) The iPhone is a godsend for antsy 2.5 year old boys. And I don't care what anyone thinks.
3.) H is crazy focused.
4.) B really loves gymnastics - especially the bar!
5.) B is losing his interest in dance - that's okay.
6.) H is very dedicated. To everything she does.
7.) H focuses better in her ballet class with older kids as opposed to her aged 3-4 year olds ballet class. Like way better.
8.) H does much better with solo activities. She shines in gymnastics and ballet. Although she is good at soccer, she's not really a team sport. That's okay.
9.) B is a team sport.
10.) B probably needs karate lessons. There was a lot of "pow pow pow, I'm super!" going on while waiting.
12.) Two gymnastics classes and two dance classes in one day is way too much for momma. I'm beat.
13.) H wants more. And her gymnastics teacher agrees that she should have more. So she'll start taking gymnastics 2x a week. They're hour long classes. I will bring my phone charger. ;-)
14.) I never intended to be the kind of mom who did "activities" like sports with her kids - my kids have a different agenda.
15.) I freaking love these kids and our life.

School will always be there.

A lot of friends have asked what we did about preschool.

Didn't mean to leave ya'll hanging there.

Ultimately, J and I decided to enroll her. Let her go. It is her decision after all.

Her gymnastics studio is literally right next door to the preschool, so I intended to just drop by that Monday after her class.

Well, we walked out of her class, I pointed to the preschool with the kids outdoor playing and said, "Let's walk over there so we can enroll you for next year."

She looked at me, her eyes big and wide and said, "No way. I'm not going there."

I'm sure I looked quizzical, because all she's done is go on and on about school for months and after we had toured this particular school she'd talked about how much she loved it and wanted to go.

"You don't?" I finally asked.

I didn't want to influence her one way or another with this decision, but I also needed to understand this 180 stance.

"No. I would miss you too much. And B."

"It'd only be for a few hours. I'm sure you'd miss us at first, but then you'd probably have a lot of fun," I told her.

She shook her head.

"I can just do pretend school with you when I want to. I don't want to go to school every day."

I nodded. I could respect that.

"I thought you liked it."

"I do like it," she agreed. "But I don't want to go."

"Fair enough."

I think I asked her about 1237298 times if she was certain, because once I told them no she'd lose her spot. She assured me she was indeed certain.

So I called J and told him what was up. He played it totally neutral, but I know that secretly he was elated.

And since that day, H hasn't mentioned school once. Which is crazy. She went from talking about school non-stop to talking about it not at all. Which is A-Okay by me.

Funny thing, after it was all said and done and J and I were talking about it one evening, we both agreed Montessori preschool would probably greatly benefit B actually. I mean, H will thrive and do awesome anywhere, but the calm and quiet atmosphere would likely be really good for B.

So we kept H's name on the list in case she later changes her mind. And B is on it as well. And who knows, maybe next year will be their year. Or maybe not.

Either way, it's okay.

We said we would do this child-lead, and though some days I question our sanity on this choice - it's exhausting to be a control freak who willfully relinquishes said control! - I know it's the right choice for our family.

And besides, H is getting more involved with dance. She's trying out a more intense and older-age class tomorrow that she is very excited about. She's requested to attend gymnastics more than once a week. Once our travel schedule settles down she wants to do swim lessons again. She does piano, and is picking up on it far quicker than her teacher had imagined. She's a busy girl right now.

School will always be there.

This exciting, busy, fun, free childhood will not.

Stuff

When did we start acquiring so much stuff?

I am sitting in my house, two sweet babes tucked away for the night, and I'm just surrounded by so much stuff.

And not like a hoarders amount of stuff piled around me, but just inside of our house is so much stuff. Copious amounts of furniture, toys, clothes, 3 different coffee makers, receipts from the last 7 years, photo albums from when I was in middle school, more books than a small library, enough DVDs to stock a rental store, Christmas decorations, bins of outgrown clothes, and bins of precious stuff that will never have a proper home. We have cupboards full of dishes we rarely use, if ever. The cupboards under our sinks are all full to their brink, but I can't remember the last time I took something out from under one other than for some band-aids.

And the crazy thing is, if you want to play the comparing game, well, then, comparatively we don't have that much stuff at all. We have two small closets and that is all we can store away for a rainy day. We don't have much compared to some, but then we have copious amounts compared to others.

But when did this happen?

As a society, I mean.

There was a time this was not the norm.

Heck, people lived in tiny wood cabins smaller than my downstairs. And everything fit. They fit.

Just the very thought of the 4 of us in that small of a space baffles me. How could we do it? And we are only four people. More people than that could comfortably live in a small space 200+ years ago.

And people had like three outfits and they were happy.

Kids had maybe two or three toys and books were sparse. Coffee makers didn't exist and you only had dishes that could be used habitually and with purpose.

But now. Holy cow, now.

I know it's a different time and place. I wouldn't want to live 200 years ago. We've come a long ways in a lot of really positive ways.

But the stuff.

I really think I am the only person in the world who truly gets stressed out by stuff.

And I add to the problem. So it's not like I'm blameless. I buy games and books and shoes and cute clothes for the kids. I buy Christmas decorations and interesting muffin pans and cookie cutters.

Though most days I want to throw everything out.

Seriously.

I tell J that all the time. I just want to throw everything out and not look back.

We can all keep like 2 weeks of clothes and 5 books and a few toys for the kids.

Non-essential dishes, good-bye.

We can figure out one way to collectively drink coffee. We don't each need out own machine.

Receipts from seven years ago? That might be ridiculous.

The pile of extra blankets just in case people visit us can really go. We've been here five years. No one is coming.

Wait.

I think I said we'd just keep 5 books a second ago.

Bahahaha!

Yeah, who in their right mind could just choose 5 books? I thought I was doing awesome by cutting them down to fit onto two shelves. That was hard! And those were just my books, not counting the kids'.

Though seriously. If I could somehow purge like everything I own, I would.

I can't.

J would die.

I'm not even sure I have the will power.

And we'd likely just acquire it all back anyway.

I mean, I said I wouldn't buy any books during lent.

That lasted all of two weeks.

Ah, alas.

Their were a lot of cons living 200+ years ago.

But at least there wasn't so much stuff.

March 18 - Pictures!

I'm trying to put down the camera phone and pick up the real camera more.

I won't lie, it's challenging. The camera phone is small and easy and virtually glued to my person (which I should probably also work on!).

But real pictures are just so much better.

So here are a few snapshots from our day. Because then I can send J this link and he can see them, too, from afar. :-)

I cannot get enough of this gorgeous face!

B's standard grin.

She always wants to make silly faces.

In case you wanted to know what he was eating, ha.

I call this his Grandpa Shawn smile.

Pretty sure she would swing all day.

This boy is always in action. He never, ever slows down.

"Vulva" and "Penis" - they are words your children need to know

I am astounded, daily, by how many people do not teach their children the proper names for genitalia.

H and B both know that boys have a penis and girls have a vulva. Period.

We use those words without flinching much like we'd say people have arms and eyes. It's simply anatomy.

And we need to empower our children with the proper names of genitalia. We need to make it something that isn't giggle-worthy or cringe-worthy to say.

Why?

Because there is so much research that proves that children who are armed with the proper names of their anatomy are much less likely to be sexually abused. Children with whom genitalia is not made taboo are more confident in their own bodies and more empowered to stand up to someone who wishes them harm.

Simply by knowing and using the proper names of genitalia your child is less likely to be sexually abused.

That information alone should be enough to throw out words like "cookie" and "bits" and "private parts" and "peter" and "tinkie-winkie."

As a kid, I cannot ever remember someone saying "penis" or "vulva." I heard "privates" a lot. Boys have "tinkie-winkies" (no joke). I have no doubt my parents thought it was what was right and proper. But we know better now. So we must do better.

For our children.

I remember that the word "penis" would immediately result in big-belly laughter. My friends and I used to play a game where we would start out whispering the word "penis" and each get louder and louder, to see who was brave enough to say the word the loudest.

And the word "vagina"...omg. I could hardly utter it. It was cringe-worthy. Almost dirty. Yeah, no. Never. And I didn't even know then that most people said vagina but really meant "vulva." I had no idea a vulva even existed. Dear Lord.

Also, children who are taught the proper names of genitalia and are comfortable using them, are easier to raise red flags with immediately if someone is sexually harming them and they're either too little to realize they should tell someone, or too scared or too ashamed to tell someone.

Because if little Sally goes from using the world vulva freely to suddenly calling it her cupcake, when mommy and daddy have never referred to it as that, it at least starts making you ask questions. Even if she simply picked up the word on the playground, it gets the gears rolling and makes you alert.

And pedophiles rarely use the proper names of anatomy. It's proven they prefer to stick with cutesy-names to make it all seem fun. Excuse me while I vomit.

I'm sure it was not simply because I was not equipped and confident in the correct names of my genitalia, but I was sexually abused as a little girl by a man whom I loved and trusted. All that was left was my virginity which was stolen without consent while I was in college by someone else whom I thought of as a friend at the time.

As is life.

I was terrified to tell anyone as a kid. I felt dirty. Ashamed. Used. Totally betrayed by this person who was supposed to keep me safe and yet hurt me to the core.

I'm only telling you this because let's face it; we like to think that so long as we keep our kids safe from the shady looking man walking down the street, our kids are safe. And yet the monsters are oh-so typically the ones we trust the most and allow to walk right through our front door.

Which makes everything that much scarier.

And far more important to help our children be confident in our bodies. To empower them with knowledge and let them say "no" loudly.

A child who uses the correct names for genitalia can obviously still be harmed. But the statistics are staggering, and the likelihood greatly diminished just by using the correct names. It's such an easy thing to do.

Predators don't want strong, confident kids. They're looking for the kids who have been taught that their genitalia is shameful, or something that shouldn't be talked about. They're looking for kids who call it something it's not. Because those kids are easy. Way too easy.

So please, please, the next time you find yourself tempted to say "cupcake" or "privates" or "peter" or whatever, just don't. Use the correct name. Empower your child. Empower yourself. And stop making genitalia taboo.

Because if it's taboo with you, then it will be interesting with someone else. And the vulnerability will be immense.

So yes, my children talk about their genitalia whenever they see fit. They use "vulva" and "penis" just as easily as they would "arm" or "plate" or "book." It's just a word. Just a body part. We all have one or the other and it is what it is.

But simply by knowing and using those two simple words, they're all ready so empowered. And in a world where I cannot protect them from everything all the time, as much as I'd love to, at least I can help to build strong, empowered, confident kids.

And you can, too.

Warm weather is coming!

The last two weeks we've been getting a wonderful glimmer of warm weather. Staying true to the Midwest Bi-Polarness our 70 degree days have been followed promptly by snow, but whatever. I'll take it. We are getting there.

The kids have been thrilled to get outside. We've spent so much time outside lately I haven't had to pick up the house. You know, because we're not inside enough to mess it up. Awesome!

The past two weeks have been great. I've been all emotional and sappy right now with how much I freaking adore H and B. I've always felt things a bit deeper and more extreme than a lot of people, which is where H obviously gets her big feelings. But I also was told from early on to keep those emotions in check because no one else wants to be privy to them. So it's really hard now for me to express my feelings to most other people.

But oh. my. gosh.

I have two gorgeous, healthy, fantastic little children. I have an amazing husband. Sometimes I think I'm going to burst at the seams with how fortunate I am to have these three amazing people in my life.

I've always been a super family-orientated person, which is kind of a cosmic joke because I have a huge family, and am close to like, three people. Go figure. I have virtually no relationship with the majority of my family, sadly, but it is what it is. So the fact that I have these three incredible people whom mean the world to me is just crazy.

Especially since two of them I gave birth to and the other actually chose to have this awesome relationship with me. I mean, wow. I'm still taken aback some days that I'm a mother and wife. And that thus far I don't seem to be messing up too much, ha.

Saturday J took H out for dinner while B and I went to chik fil a's Mother Son Date Knight, which was incredibly adorable. And it's always fun to spend some one-on-one time with the babes.

And we went hiking that day.

I also got to see my dad this weekend, which tickled the kids pink.

Anyway, I could say a lot more, it'd probably all be corny, but apparently we need to go outside now - coloring is no longer fun. So I will leave with you some pictures.

Digging for worms, of course!

I got big mommy points for buying scented bubbles! And look at those cheeks!

Two thumbs up!

They were looking at insects and I caught a rainbow, apparently!

How is she this big!?

 They found a woodpecker.

Yep, I'm the luckiest. I snagged this charming man!

Melt my heart!

 

To go or not to go; that is the question

H was offered a spot in our local Montessori school last week.

I didn't realize we were still even on the wait list (we were offered a spot last year, but I forgot to respond because I was out of state and overwhelmed with lead stuff).

I was going to say "no" immediately, because, well, it's just out of our budget. By a lot.

But J said we should tour it because H has been requesting school like a madwoman for the past several months and we both want to do her right, while also sticking to our own beliefs and values.

And Montessori fits that because it is very child-led, which is important to both J and I.

Of course we toured it and we all loved it.

J loved how respectful the teachers were. The last school we toured had a "red, yellow, green light" behavior system which completely put J (and me) off and he pretty much said based on that alone he wouldn't and couldn't send our child.

Here, such a thing does not exist. Here the environment is so calm and peaceful and respectful. And we did witness a child unhappy over not getting what he wanted that second (because someone else was using it) and it was dealt with so beautifully that I wanted to kiss the teacher for treating the child like a human being and not an object to be manipulated or punished like so many teachers and people do.

Essentially, there was nothing J and I disliked about this preschool. We had qualms with the older grades, but that isn't something that is a factor today. We'd cross that bridge when we got there.

And H really loved the school.

And so did B, which is a slight other issue, because we'd be breaking bank to send H, and despite the fact that they said they'd allow B to attend if H did, we wouldn't be able to afford to send them both. Not even remotely. So I feel guilty letting one kid go and not the other, when they're both eligible. :-/

Though maybe it's not an issue, because when I casually asked H yesterday, after hearing her rave for quite a bit about how much she loved the school too, if she wanted to go to preschool her response was, flatly, "No."

"Oh," I said. "Why not?"

"I would just miss you too much."

I nodded. "I'd miss you, too. But you'd have a lot of fun."

"No, I just want to pretend to go to school so I can be with B."

"Okay," and I left it at that.

So now J and I are kinda like WTF do we do? Do we assume she really doesn't want to go now, or that she does? And how will she feel when September rolls around, because once we say no this option is gone?

And the kicker is we have to tell them tomorrow. Oh yeah, and pay them $500 to hold her spot...

Not something I want to do for a girl who might decide she doesn't want to go.

I have a feeling the real issue is she doesn't want to be separated from B. I think. But I don't know for certain.

I'd just assume not put her into school. Obviously. But I don't want to throw away something she wants. But I don't even know if she really wants it anymore, or if she is just intrigued with the idea.

If it were a hell of a lot cheaper I'd just enroll her for now and pull her out later if she didn't want to go, but that's a lot of money to throw away. At least to me. Heck, if it were cheaper I'd just enroll them both and this would likely be a non-issue.

So now I have roughly 24 hours to figure out if she genuinely does or does not want to go, and for what reasons.

And trying to get a straight answer from a (almost) 4 year old is pretty much impossible.

So wish me luck.

Simplistic Meal Planning

I've tried meal planning off an on over the years. Mostly, I always found it tedious and I burnt out super quickly.

And I'm terrible with coming up with variety. It pretty much gives me anxiety.

But, in an effort to tighten up our budget, I've finally come up with a rather simplistic weekly meal plan that works for us. And we do it weekly, with little to no change. So I don't have to get too crazy with variety.

We eat eggs for breakfast. Every day. Yep, eggs. The kids typically eat them over easy with a side of fruit. I eat them scrambled with enough veggies that I can hardly taste the eggs (I don't really like eggs...). I try to throw in some bacon or sausage once or twice a week, but the kids don't seem to care either way. On the weekends J makes them gluten-free pancakes. He's cooler than me. And once Farmer's Market starts back up, our breakfast will be acquired at our favorite restaurant on Saturday mornings. Oh, I'm all ready drooling for a crepe or some quiche!

J takes sandwich stuff to work and makes his own sandwiches for lunch most days. Occasionally I send him with leftovers if it isn't something that went over well with the kids.

The kids and I eat leftovers, fruits, and nuts and soup mostly for lunch. I try to feed us fish twice a week, since J isn't a fish lover unless it's fried. I'll make the kids a tuna dip (1/2 block of cream cheese with a can of tuna and some spinach) and they'll eat it with carrot sticks (real carrots, not baby carrots. This is one reason baby carrots don't come into my house). And then typically a tilapia or cod or wild caught salmon broiled another day. But none of us are big lunch eaters, we mostly graze. Which works. I just make sure all of our options are healthy.

And I've made our dinner rotation so simple even I can't mess it up. And that's saying a lot!

Monday is ground beef and potatoes with a veggie and salad on the side.

Tuesday is whole chicken in the crock pot. I toss a bag of frozen veggies in before I take H to piano lessons, so it's all cooked and ready to go when we get back.

Wednesday is a bit of a wild card. I make something with chicken from the day before. Typically GF enchiladas or taco salad. Or if I'm super in a rush I just heat up the chicken and serve it with some veggies.

Thursday is soup day. I make chicken stock out of that whole chicken carcass. I throw in whatever veggies I have on hand and any chicken left over. Served with a side salad.

Friday is GF spaghetti night, which works out perfect with lent, since we go meat free for dinner that day anyway. I make a veggie and salad, and wham. Everyone is happy (because I don't care for spaghetti much).

J does dinner on the weekends. Organ meat and pork. Or sometimes leftover spaghetti for the kids one night and steak for us after they're in bed. It's like a date at home! Whatever works. I mostly leave it up to him, although I buy the various meats and toss them in the freezer.

Simply having a rough idea of what and how we are eating every week has been a Godsend. I'm not overwhelmed trying to come up with ideas. I'm not grocery shopping blindly, just purchasing whatever sounds good (yes, that's typically how I shop). We waste so much less this way, eat much healthier (less last minute take out or throwing a meal together from Bfoods deli because I don't know what is going on despite being the one in charge).

It's only taken me 4.5 years of marriage, but I totally recommend everyone have a plan. Seriously. It's cheaper. Ridiculously cheaper. I am still buying organic, local foods mostly (sorry, I will never buy organic avocados or pineapple or bananas, it's not worth it), and I'm saving a ton! Simply by knowing what I'm doing for a change.

It makes life SO much easier. It's worth it.

D.C., Philly, Lititz, Oh My!

We've had an awesome whirlwind of a week.

A really great trip to the East Coast.

We saw a lot of people we love and didn't get to spend enough time with any of them. Ah, as is life, I suppose. I'm so thankful for the time we did get though!

We started out last Tuesday. The kids and I left around noon after their soccer was over to join J who was having meetings all week a little over an hour south of D.C. We arrived around midnight, despite all the "terrible blizzards and snow" I was warned about. The roads were perfect. We had less than an hour of very, very light snow. That didn't stick to the roads, ground, or windshield. So we were good.

Wednesday morning the kids and I moseyed around, had breakfast, and then headed to the nearest park and ride to catch the metro into D.C. They were super excited about the train for about two minutes. Then the thrill wore off.

We met up in D.C. with one of my dearest friends, Kate, and had lunch with her (well, the kids had chocolate croissants - that counts right?). Kate is gorgeous and glamorous and fun as always. I almost apologized for having not done my hair or make-up, but then I didn't, because fortunately you don't have to apologize about that kind of stuff with some people.

Then we ventured over to the Natural History Museum. I think the kids liked it. Especially the caterpillars and butterflies.

Then we brilliantly decided to walk to the Lincoln Memorial.

An easy walk when you're not lugging around two small children, for sure! And they weren't eager to walk themselves.

We wised up and took a cab back to Kate's apartment. One little somebody passed out cold during the very short drive. Another little somebody fought it hard, and managed to stay awake until 9p.m. that night!!

Thursday I had wanted to return to D.C. for more sightseeing, because you know, looking at monuments is fun. Even if you've seen them like 40 times all ready. Okay, if you're me, it is. The kids weren't keen on that idea so instead I took them to a nearby historical plantation. I didn't win any points with that one either. But it was gorgeous. I just wish my real camera hadn't died on me, or I could have gotten some good photos there!

H was so sweet and polite, despite her obvious lack of enthusiasm. I would explain something historical to her like the smokehouse or the blacksmith and she'd muster up a smile and say in monotone, "Oh, wow." B didn't even pretend to be having fun.

Yeah, guess they didn't get my history gene.

So we went back to the hotel and swam and watched Disney Jr. for 3 hours. The kids were fairly certain they'd gone to heaven, ha.

Friday morning J was done with meetings, so we hightailed it up to Philadelphia where my dad, step-mom, brother sister-in-law, niece, mom, and mom's boyfriend all were for the commissioning of the ship my brother is currently on - Somerset.

After a few plunders and mishaps, we finally met up with everyone at the ship in order for my brother to take us on a tour.

Miss H could not have been more excited to see her cousin, O! Before we'd headed out East we had gone to our local kids boutique because H had her own money to spend and wanted nail polish (and I'm a freak and only buy her "safe" nail polish). Well, she found a Hello Kitty necklace and wanted to buy that for her cousin instead with her money. It absolutely melted my heart (and I went ahead and bought her the nail polish myself, don't worry!). H promptly gave O the necklace and then they held hands and sang "Let It Go!" as we walked to the ship.

 

 

We were given an excellent tour of the ship by my brother.

Afterwards we headed for dinner and then passed out in the hotel room my mom so kindly got for us. I was out solid until 12:30 until the Bogans next door decided it was great time to have a spat. The dude yelled incoherently. The girl would randomly scream, "I f*cking hate you!" or "Don't f*cking touch me!" I was all about calling down the lobby, but Mr. B had unplugged the phone and was sleeping on top of me. Since it didn't disturb the kids or J I listened to the carrying-on until nearly 3am. Awesome fun, of course.

The next morning we headed out to the commissioning ceremony.

That's my brother!

 

The kids were all pretty awesome throughout the ceremony. I was impressed anyway.

 

 Ignore the fact that I have three pairs of mittens stuffed into my coat pockets. I try to keep things real.

 

 

 

We met up with everyone and went out for lunch at the City Tavern. It was a grand time and my sister-in-law got me a gift while we were there...

 

And then we walked back to where we were parked. The girls immediately broke into the cannoli chips and dip on the walk over. Never mind we'd just had a 3 hour lunch, ha.

And then we made the 2 hour drive west to J's sister's house in Lititz to spend the night. B cozied right up with J. Melt my heart.

And then we spent the morning visiting before finally heading off to return home.

We had an incredibly good time. It didn't last long enough with any of our family or friends. But we are so glad we got to see everyone.

And the kids and are happy to be home again!

For a few weeks anyway. ;-)