most boring field trip EVER!

Yesterday I accompanied my youngest on the worst field trip I have ever been on. Okay this is with number 3 so I have been on LOTS of field trips. The day did not start well because M was having a melt down before school- did not like clothes, breakfast, lunch choices, you name it she did not like it! She finally shouted that she did not want me to go. That was my out, if I had only known!! Well I showed up at the school by 8:25am. Did ride with 5 other moms (who also discovered that this field trip was terrible). The ride to and fro was by far the best part except for the 30 minutes of mining for "gems". We arrive at a "faux" castle in town (used to house a steam engine in late 1800s to crush rocks looking for gold) to tour the rock quarry. This ended up being a drive by, watching the dump truck and conveyor belts drop rocks, smash rocks into gravel and then dump if somewhere else. We then walked to a tent with the largest chandelier(yea, right) where they host wedding receptions. Then we walked to mining section to get a bucket of dirt and see if it had jewels in it. The buckets ranged from $5 to $100. We got the $5 buckets, dumped the sand into a tray and washed it through water. (THIS WAS THE BEST PART OF THE WHOLE DAY). After mining, we got to watch a 45 minute promo video for this "castle" as your destination for Oktoberfest (they even mentioned the beer), medieval feasts, proms and weddings. These first graders were all enthralled-NOT! The topper was a picnic lunch in a field that was swarming with bees. We ate in less than 5 minutes and 2 kids were stung. Before leaving the kids each got a silver coin to trade in for something on the .99 table. Oh boy! M choose a blue polished rock, which she lost before getting it home 1 hour later. OMG! I got home at 2pm. What a complete waste of time!

Boo Fest

Every year my husband's office has a halloween party for the kids. They go all out and have TONS of candy, games, prizes and lots of food! Thankfully they started having "dinner" food as well as the fun halloween desserts. So my kids have always looked forward to this event. Well this year only my youngest was excited! My oldest had to work and I drug my middle daughter (costumeless and cranky, texting her friends every second) with the promise of dinner -Chick Filet and pizza. So M dressed as a witch, complete with a sparkly broom, spider ring, big black earrings and a costume trimmed with a black boa. She had a ball, especially at the limbo and the mummy contest in which her friend, Hannah Montana, wrapped her in toilet paper! We brought home a huge bag of candy. And we ate it all!

Boo at the Zoo

Yesterday our family (minus the 2 big girls) headed to the zoo because my youngest claims to have never been to the zoo before. I did point out that she had in fact gone when she was almost 1. M says she has no memory of that so it doesn't count. SO we wake up early and head to the zoo- but not just any day at the zoo-it was "Boo at the Zoo". Got breakfast to go at Duncan Doughnuts then hit the highway. About 30 minutes later we were THERE! Kids were pouring in wearing their halloween costumes. Not us. I did not think it would be fun to try to walk all day in a thin witch costume as it was 60 degrees. Also we could not stay until the costume contest. M was not phased by this and just excited to FINALLY be at the zoo. (See why she is our current favorite!) But we did play lots of games that were run by college students, saw a fabulous magician and won lots of rubber fangs, candy, stickers and animal trading cards. And we saw all the animals! My daughter loved the sea lions and harbor seals. The polar bear was just curled up asleep and not very interesting which was disappointing. But we moved on to "Africa" to see flamingos (who get their pink color from eating shrimp), lions, zebras, elephants, rhinos and giraffe! We ended up spending about 3 hours walking around and M was thrilled and thought it was the "best day ever!" A good day all the way around!

Children of the Corn(maze)

We had big plans to go to a corn maze today! Got up and it looked like rain but wasn't raining. Good so far. As we got ready to head out the bottom dropped. So we looked at the hour by hour forcast and found a window of only 10-20% chance of rain at 12 pm. We were taking my youngest M and her friend. As we drove to the maze it was sprinkling but not bad. We arrived, parked, paid our $24 and ventured into the maze. It was shaped like a rooster with a bridge in the middle. They said it should take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete. The girls were very excited and took turns deciding if we were to go left or right of the paths. We found corn (duh!), slugs, lots of mud puddles, the bridge (3 times!) and the exit after only 1 hour and 15 minutes! It was fun and the rain held off until we were going back to the car. Thanks so much!!! After we got out of the maze there was a silo filled with corn kernels for the kids to play in. That really was fun! They had a ball making corn angels, singing goofy songs while inserting the word corn and generally wallowing around in kernels (think ball pit except with corn). So we had a great Saturday adventure then went to a local drug store with a lunch counter and had a yummy lunch!

Doughnuts for Dad

M has been waiting all month for "doughnuts for dad" at her school. It is a quick gathering before school starts that lets the dads meet other dads and hang with their kids, meet the teachers, etc... She was up early and excited about taking her dad this morning! I got a call about 8:10 am from my husband saying it had been a huge success! M was thrilled and a bit wired, he said, after 3 doughnuts in 20 minutes. Then he just walked her to her classroom and went to work. Good morning for us all! (See why we she is our favorite!?) P.S. Muffins for Moms is in the spring.

Girl Scouts Rock

Okay, I am a Girl Scout leader for 3 troops-one for each of my girls. Sometimes I love this job and sometimes not so much! This will be a big year for my two older girls because my oldest, K, will be completing her Gold Award (if I don't kill her first) and my middle, L, will be completing her Silver Award (OMG! we may both quit after this!). And my Daisy troop is just having fun, making new friends and gardening. So this week in my middle daughter's troop, all 12 girls, were presenting an issue/concern to our school board chairman. We had been practicing, trying to get the concerns more broad, instead of "I hate my math teacher" and trying to eliminate all the "like" and "yeah" and "um". Well on Thursday they did it! And they did it well! I was so impressed! The school board chairman was also impressed and addressed each girls' concern thoughtfully. Girl Scouts Rock!

Choosing the perfect pumpkin

Usually this is a family tradition for us all 5 to go and choose 3 pumpkins. Sounds so perfect. . . NOT! Usually someone is not in a good mood or grumpy that they have to go now, etc. . . So this year my husband and I just decided to take our youngest, our current favorite (for a variety of reasons but mostly because she doesn't sass back and still loves us!) So we headed out to our favorite church "pumpkin patch" to make our selections! Fun time had by all but M did have a tough time choosing just 2! Oh and get this, K and L, when they found out we had gone without them were completely pissed off. I can't win. Tune in later this month to see what our pumpkins become!

2 Wheelin' Mania

M is now riding a 2 wheeler!! We have been a little delayed in this skill due to many reasons. First, she is the third so there is less time and inclination to conquer this milestone. Secondly, she spent parts of last year in a body cast and then surgery and a walker so we have not even mentioned getting on a bike (going for low risk activities, instead). And thirdly, since she is the third we are sure she will EVENTUALLY ride a bike so what's the big deal! Well, her friends are now riding past the house and she wanted to join them WITHOUT training wheels-"which are so embarrassing mom!" I let my husband go out there with her because I of course do everything else so he could have this one! I figured I would go out with the camera later. Well she did great! It really did not take long at all. We have practiced each day and yesterday she made 4 laps around the block (without getting hit by a car-yipeee!). She can start herself- provided the right peddle is always in the up position and is learning to stay on the right side of the road. Still working on stopping at stop signs and using the hand brakes. M is so happy with herself and we can check this one off the list!

Fabulous Food in Philly!

While in Philly we had some fabulous and unique food! Thursday night we went to SUPPER. It is a relatively new restaurant that serves interesting, seasonal and local food! I had a pumpkin beer to begin the meal. My salad was more of a vegetable plate with greens, leeks, cheddar cheese, seasoned walnuts and a raspberry puree drizzled on the side. For the entree I had the best burger I have ever eaten! It was fresh brisquet ground that day, with a gruyere, and roasted tomato with duck fat fingerlings! For dessert I had grilled pound cake with baked pears and vanilla ice cream. It was one of the best meals I have ever had!! Then on Friday for lunch before leaving for the airport my husband and I went to MONK'S CAFE, a Belgian beer and mussels restaurant. They had over 180 belgian beers as well as many more from all over the world. We each had a small bucket of mussels prepared differently. My husbands were in a spicy red sauce and mine were in a beer based white broth with leeks and cheese. We also tried several beers we had never even heard of. Beers here are described like wine. We had to get our server to help with recommendations! I had a raspberry lambic that easily could have been a dessert. Very interesting and super yummy! So I had terrible weather but ate so well and really enjoyed my quick get away with my hubby! Can't wait to go again-anywhere with you honey!

Bad Weather and Good Fun!

Today was a miserable day in Philly! It was oh so cold with high winds AND rain! Yuck!! So after sleeping late then having a late breakfast with a friend I waited for Kim to arrive from NYC on the train. We were planning on spending the day together before she continued home to Baltimore. We only get to see each other 4-5 times a year so we really have fun when we get together. There are always tons of laughs, photos, and memories! So on this cold, yucky day we head first to my FAVORITE store- LUSH! I had gone yesterday but had not yet been today and not with Kim, so we got umbrellas and headed out! Once there we spent about 30 minutes trying out new scents of bath products and lotions. We found out about a "mermaid" bath that involves combining 2 bath bombs, one is gold and glittery and the other is blue/green and smells fabulous! This is a must have! We made a few purchases then headed to a children's boutique. Got some great deals on sale! Finally we have had enough of the cold, wet weather so we head to a local favorite for lunch-The Good Dog Cafe. We have been told they have high brow bar food. Not sure what that is but sounds good! We both got the mac and cheese, but not your ordinary mac and cheese. This one was made with 3 kinds of cheese, elbow noodles and crumbled corn flakes on top with a side of warm blueberry cornbread! Add a beer and the meal was complete!! It was a fabulous lunch and the company was even better! Thanks for a great day, Kim!! See you in California! (if not before!)

Mommy's Gotta Go!

I love to travel- especially with my husband! Today I am going to Philadelphia for 3 days and 2 nights! I am so excited just to get out of town!! Sleep late, read lots, no laundry (but I did tons just to be able to leave), no cooking and lots of adult conversations! Yipee! Oh and an added bonus- while my husband is in meetings one of my best girl friends is coming to spend the day with me. Can't wait! I am sure I will be a more pleasant mom after recharging my battery! After arriving at 8:30 am, I got a cup of coffee and read the NYTime Book Review from the past 2 weeks. Then I strolled around town. Found one of my favorite stores, LUSH!!! Did a little shopping, ate a yummy lunch then back to the hotel for a nap and shower before dinner. So far a perfect day!

Best Cookies Ever!

My favorite bakery in town is GANACHE. They have the most amazing cookies, cakes, tarts, and much, much more! When my youngest was in preschool they took a field trip to this bakery for a tour and got to decorate cookies. I made M a special dress to wear on the field trip. It was a teal corduroy jumper with a fun M monogrammed in pink and a "cake" ribbon on the hem. She looked adorable! Anyway, yesterday I popped in to get some fondant cookies for my girls. I had been a few times before and they had been sold out so I was thrilled when they had some today. So thrilled in fact that I bought 10 for my three girls (and me, of course)! I pulled out a $20 thinking that would certainly cover it but NO! It was $30! A delicious splurge!! They were so yummy that they did not last long in our house. I mean my oldest K did not get one-or even know we had them!! How sad! I will go again soon and let K have the first one! I promise!

what is more fun than the fair?

Every year the fair comes to my hometown and my parents take my youngest, M. It is a win-win situation for us all! The grandparents have a ball, my daughter loves to go and to have her grandparents all to herself, and the parents get to have some time off! This weekend was the Dixie Classic Fair and my parents scooped M up on Saturday afternoon to go spend the night with them and then go to the fair on Sunday. Funnel cake, rides, animals and games with stuffed prizes (which she got 3 of!). What more could you ask for? As you can see, everyone had great time! Thanks D & P!

Oh, and they decorated pumpkins too!

Wine tasting (some of us take bigger tastes, thank you)

Last week I mentioned that I was doing some outdoor planting to get ready for a party I was having. Well, it was a wine tasting on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the marriage of some good friends. We had fabulous fall weather and hosted on our brick patio with a fire in the outdoor fireplace. We had a "welcome" wine while people were arriving that was a yummy sparkling rose from France. I am not usually a fan of French wines but found this one delightful! (And I enjoyed another bottle of it last night while watching GLEE with my hubby!) The idea was to do a blind tasting of 5 wines in which you had to identify them from a brief description and then a final "ringer" wine that you were suppose to identify only its country of origin. The party was to be from 5-7 and the tasting was lead by a friend who owns a local wine shop and wine bar. Fun idea! We had a great time with all this "tasting" and after the results were revealed everyone stuck around until 9ish still "tasting". The "ringer" wine was my favorite, 2004 Harmonie Cotes Du Rhone. So I now am a fan of French wine! After everyone (except the guest couple) had left, we decided to go out to dinner (yes, I did have food-good cheese, fruit, meat, and chocolate at the party). We headed out at 10pm on a Sunday to a great restaurant and ordered-you guessed it- another bottle of wine! I had a really great weekend and party. But I was a little slow moving on Monday. Completely worth it!! Good wine and great friends along with super weather make for a perfect party! Oh, and I had great flowers at the party from my friend's barn party the day before!

A great Fall weekend!

We had a wonderful fall weekend! The weather was fabulous!! Sunny and 70 but getting cooler as the sun set. My girls and I started off on Saturday at the Women's Only 5K to raise money for breast cancer. M had the first race at 8:15am and was so excited about it she could not eat breakfast. Then we all did the 5K at 10am. We did run most of it- which was impressive since none of us had "trained" for it! Such a fun event and for a great cause!

Later that day we had a family "barn" party to go to about 45 minutes away. The party started at 4 and lasted LATE! My oldest girls spent the night outside in a tent! There was a bluegrass band, BBQ, beer, 4 wheelers, hay rides, bonfires, s'mores and square dancing!! It was a perfect family event and we all had such a fabulous time!