vacation: the fun off the beach

while we did get to the beach nearly every single day we tried to plan something "non beachy" for part of each day too. those two activities sandwiched on either side of a nap of course!

playground fun!

even more playground fun!

Cameron loved driving those cars round and round... most of the time i had to take him off in tears when the ride ended. then being the good mother that i am put him immediately back in line for the next round.

a nice variation of the car driving... boats are fun too!

our friend from the Cape May Zoo -- a free zoo only 20 minutes away? we're there!

May getting ready for....

her first Ferris wheel ride. Dadda said she did really well and was more brave than i am... i hate those things!

i'm pretty sure a round of mini golf is a requirement when at the beach

again, with the driving.... at the arcade this time.

a first thing Monday morning surrey ride on the boardwalk is a wonderful way to start the week off. the kids were in love with sitting in front. i can't wait until they are big enough to help with the peddling!

Vacation: our surroundings

our location @ 34th & Asbury was very prime... for a not so very prime price! a 1/2 block from a wonderful playground and a block & 1/2 from 'da beach! here are some shots of our lovely surroundings .... mostly the beach, cause the playground wasn't much to look at.

p.s. stay tuned for pictures of children. ours.

Vacation: our home for a week

we're back after a wonderful week 'down the shore' in Ocean City, NJ -- while my intentions were to be minimalist with the picture taking it was an unrealistic goal so needless to say i have lots of pictures to share. i'll do it in segments though so you won't get too overwhelmed!

our new digs... up the stairs!

Mayden's room

making a mess already

parents + Cameron's room

trying to be a soulemama

kitchen

our porch

gone beaching

we'll be away for a week enjoying this magical place...

see ya next Saturday!

me, quilting??

except for that moment i lost my mind and sold some of May's baby clothes @ a yard sale... i have nearly every single piece of clothing each of my children have ever worn. it's been a struggle to figure out what to do with all of this clothing. i love that clothing. really, i love what it reminds me of.

i convinced myself it was a good idea to store it all just in case another baby came along. i'm now realizing that the reality of that happening anytime soon is slim. or i thought maybe i should keep it for my sister in case she has a baby soon (which, by the way-- SHE IS!!) but then it's always in the back of my mind that it's ridiculous to save all these clothes. it's taking up space & other people could use them... heck, i could even make money selling it on Ebay or at a yard sale. But, i love that clothing!

a few weeks ago it came to me: make a quilt for each of the kidOs using the fabric they wore. genius! turns out i'm not the first to think of this... minor detail. so i'm on a quilt making journey, one that will probably take years. i'm just a beginner sewer and i want them to look perfect so i imagine it will take a while. after much searching online i found my inspiration and my "how to".

i've started cutting squares mostly so i can get rid of the bulk of the fabric. so while Cameron is napping and while Mayden does her thing i sit at the nearby table and do mine. perfect!

project hatch: the final frontier

so i believe i am officially the worst chicken owner in the world (possibly the universe). as you may recall last time i left you we had 4 chicks... 2 we thought were roosters, 2 we thought were hens. well turns out 3 were roosters and one was a hen. was.

we took the two known roosters to our friends in south jersey and as soon as we removed those roosters we heard that 3rd one crow. jeez!

so down to 1 rooster & 1 hen. a few weeks ago we made plans to spend the night at my parents house so Chris and i could have a date night. before we left we tried to get the two chicks back into the coop unsuccessfully... they love to roam free. normally we close them up once they go in for the night around 9pm. but since we were not home that didn't happen so we just left the coop open for them. i was worried about them but not enough to make the 30 minute (one way) trip back to lock them in.

we return to find the baby hen as a pile of feathers on the nearby compost pile (fitting i guess). damn it! the rooster spent the next week & 1/2 wondering around aimlessly, clearly sad. he refused to spend the nights in the coop and really i have no idea where he ended up sleeping but he'd always show up the next morning. until this morning. i went out back to drink my coffee (thankfully with out the kids) and found a puff of feathers in the side yard. upon further examination by Chris he found the poor guy expired (i'll spare you the gory details)

needless to say we're pretty upset. i'm not sure we're cut out for this farm life.

together time

this doesn't happen as often as i dreamt it would while pregnant with Cameron... but when it does it's oh so sweet!

wordless wednesday

where we have been most of the week!

weak

it's been a blah week for me. for no reason in particular, just can't seem to get the gumption to be very happy. i think i'm in pity party mode and i need to figure out how to turn this thing off! i am so good at being a pessimist and a worry-wart... this is not a good combination!

BUT this is not to say there haven't been good moments. there have been a bunch this week...

can't find Cameron?

i'll give you two guesses as to where he probably is.... but you'll only need one.

he spends hours on this "gooks" (truck). i've even taken to parking it in the side yard so i can see him better than when it's in the shed. worlds greatest toy ever!! can't wait till he can really drive this thing... my guess is that it will lose it's luster by then :o)