five on friday

Last summer we were new to Baltimore and didn't know all it offered and, even worse, we didn't really have any friends.  But this summer we're determined to enjoy all the activities the Charm City has to offer, and we're having a fantastic time.

ONE | Hammerman Beach is my new favorite place on the planet.  It's not actually a beach, but a beachy spot on the bay- the water is warm and shallow, the sand is perfect, and it's only 30 minutes from home.  We went with a big group last week then when a friend asked if we wanted to go again this week the immediate and correct response was YES!  If I get my way, we'll go at least once a week for the rest of summer.

TWO | The girls completed their summer reading charts which earned us free cupcakes and free personal pizzas (we have yet to redeem the latter and I'm looking forward to it more than the girls.)

THREE | There's a fun splash pad in the Inner Harbor that we visited this week.  Jilly and her friend Bennett are the cutest little pair, and we're suspicious that he's the reason behind her recent interest in lip gloss.  We couldn't choose a better match for her, but are definitely not ready for the boy crazy phase- yikes!

FOUR |  Eventually we'll get a swing set in our backyard, but until then we are so lucky to have a park at the end of our street.  The girls get their playground fix and Bryan gets to practice his ninja moves.

FIVE | We've heard a lot about Prigel Creamery and finally made it out last weekend.  The ice cream is made on site and is delicious.  We sat out on the grass admiring the lovely view and enjoying our treat while listening to semi-decent live music; it was a nearly perfect night.

All this summer fun can be exhausting ;)

Into the Woods

Someone in our family got a wee bit stressed out last week with all the unpacking.  It felt like everything was a disaster and she felt lots of pressure (all self-inflicted) to make it look perfect RIGHT NOW and there were two little people that were not overly helpful with the process.  On Thursday night that person (who will remain nameless) had a little meltdown and actually looked exactly like this:

Realizing that an intervention was necessary, Bryan declared that we were going camping.  He had Friday off but had to go in for a few hours in the morning to finish some projects.  I got us all packed up (a little grudgingly, I'll be honest) then we were on the road by 11.  We stopped at Wendy's for the girls to have their first frosty's and for me to get 2 large DP's (a happy accident/miscommunication that definitely added to my general happiness/pleasantness.)  As we drove west through the greenest green hills (a Marylander would call them mountains, but Bryan wasn't buying it) I started to relax- it was so beautiful.

We arrived, set up our campsite, then had to coax the girls out of the tent for some exploring.  We went for a walk along the Potomac, threw rocks in the water, and Bryan fished for a bit.  We saw a mama and baby deer which was one of the highlights of the trip.  It was beautiful but veryveryvery hot + humid.

Back at the campsite we were hungry, but it was way too hot to start a fire and cook our hotdogs so we ate snacks, read books, and played with a ball for a while.  Finally at 8 the sun started to go down and we built a fire, ate dinner and made s'mores then got the girls ready for bed.  Jilly fell asleep quickly but Mattie held out for a long time.  We could hear her singing for a while and occasionally she would call out "Daddy, I in da tent!"  Eventually she fell asleep and by the time Bryan and I went to bed it was blessedly cold.  We didn't sleep much because it was a crowded tent and SO loud out there in the woods (crickets, cicadas, frogs, etc.) and I was constantly covering the girls up with blankets.   

The girls were up with the sun and we were all not in our most pleasant moods thanks to the late night and not sleeping very well.  We had brought our dvd player so we convinced the girls to watch a movie in the tent for a while so we could sleep a little longer but eventually we gave up and got up for breakfast.  We had a spectacular breakfast of pop tarts + bananas + leftover hotdogs + eventually a few toasted marshmallows (campers of the year for sure.)  

Shortly after arriving on Friday Bryan said "we need to camp a lot more and toughen these girls up" (I have no doubt that I was included in the "these girls.")  Mattie would have a mini panic-attack every time she saw a moving creature, no matter how small.  But on Saturday morning the girls fell in love with a caterpillar and named him Tico so that's definite progress.  And Jilly was brave enough to walk across a little log over the stream.  We'll take what we can get.

After breakfast we packed everything up, went swimming at the campground pool and played on the playground then each got to choose an ice cream treat before heading home.  I'll be honest- it was nice to get away and fun to all be together for a day, but I'm not eager to camp again soon.  There was a lot of complaining (by all of us) and next time we'd probably A) try to go when it's not quite so hot and B) probably go with some friends to add a little more excitement/entertainment.  But, I'm glad we went and glad we have this memory.  As soon as we got home the girls asked me to set up their little tent in the playroom and they've been playing "camping" ever since so I'm glad to know we didn't traumatize them.

girls lately

Mattie:
+ Talks nonstop.  My favorite things she says are "Cindewedda" (Cinderella) and "manamelon" (watermelon.)
+ Is the best person to share an oreo with.  She breaks off the cookie (my favorite part) and gives it to me then licks the frosting off and gives the other now-wet cookie to Jilly (who sometimes accepts and sometimes turns up her nose.)
+ While in CA my mother-in-law told me she was so impressed that Mattie knew her colors to which I responded "she does??"  That's right, somehow Mattie has learned all the colors with absolutely no help from her lame-o mother.
+ Is still sweet but very feisty.  She's got a mean foot stomp and is not afraid to use it.  The other day Bryan told her "Did you just say no to me?" and she stomped and said "Yes.  I say NO to you!"  She's not an infrequent visitor to time out.

Jillian:
+ Discovered her summer reading chart while we were unpacking and has been cracking the whip ever since.  She follows me around all day asking what we can do next to get a sticker on her chart.
+ Came up with a new word: cuzzle.  It's a combination between cozy and snuggle and her most favorite thing in the world to do.
+ Is so sensitive.  She spent our last couple days in CA crying because she was going to miss Nana and she totally lost it at the airport.  Sometimes her emotions are a little too much for me but I'm trying to be patient.
+ Has decided that the dress code for her birthday party (in November) will not be "dress up"  but "dress nice."  Her favorite topic of conversation is what everyone in our family will be wearing.

friday five

We're one week into home ownership (the second time around) and so far it's gone pretty well.  I've made 5 trips to Lowes and 3 trips to Ace Hardware so I'd say we're right on schedule.

one | For the most part this past week we've been painting.  Our house isn't super big, but we do have a large-ish front room (living/dining room) that was coral with a side of beige and that was first to go.  Bryan was in charge of the tall wall over the stairs and gave me a 45 minute heart attack while he stood on his makeshift platform and painted.

two | We bought our first lawnmower and edger and blower!  Our backyard has the loveliest landscaping and we're making sure to really enjoy it this first summer because our black thumbs will make sure at least 70% of it doesn't survive to 2016.

three | My mom (who is the best person I know) kept the girls for five days while we started the move in/paint/unpack process.  We were so happy to have these little munchkins back on Wednesday; it has been so fun to watch them explore and fall in love with the new house.  Anytime we leave Mattie says "I wanna go back to MY house."  

four | This house has a pantry (our first!) and an extra fridge/freezer so I went all out at Costco this week in hopes that I won't have to go again for months.  The ladies at checkout told me there was absolutely no way I'd be able to fit everything in one cart so they filled up two carts that I promptly stuffed into one.  Hear me roar.

five | While the girls were gone I felt like my time would be better used getting stuff done than making dinner so we ate out A LOT (and... I kind of loved it.)  But after the girls were back and we had raided Costco I had no more excuses so I made my first real dinner in a month and it actually didn't kill me (shockingly.)  We finished off our first home-cooked meal in our house with ice cream cones in the backyard.  I think we're gonna like it here.

five on friday

ONE | Fourth of July- We were still with all of Bryan's family and had an all-American day of swimming, slurpees, delicious bbq and homemade ice cream, bounce houses at the Oakley festival, and fireworks.  Jilly was especially patriotic and loved to yell "America!!" 

TWO | Eight Years - Bryan and I celebrated our anniversary and were actually together this year!   We took advantage of family to watch our girls and went shopping then ate a delicious dinner and topped the night off with the yummiest cookie ice cream sandwiches (I'm really really hoping Cream makes its way out east soon.)

 THREE | We were sad to see everyone go, but so lucky to get a week with Nana and Papa all to ourselves.  We visited nearly every park in Oakley, went to the Oakland Zoo and Tilden Park, and ate lots of ice cream.  We flew home on Dress Like a Cow Day (poor planning!) so we made pretty lame masks and stopped by cfa for breakfast on our way to the airport, which ended up being an excellent idea because thanks to a delay and 3 hour time change we didn't get home til midnight.

FOUR | We couldn't leave CA without visiting the Schaders.  Lisa is always the hostess with the mostess and took excellent care of us.  The kids loved having a popcorn party and watching Mary Poppins then visiting Happy Hollow.  And I loved some quality time with my besty.  The only damper on the visit was in the middle of the night when I heard Mattie crying and panicked because I couldn't find her; finally I realized she had rolled under the bed and was stuck!  Poor girl, but she recovered quickly.

FIVE | We made it to Baltimore and stayed with friends for a night then drove down to Richmond since we were still homeless.  We had a fun couple days with my family but today is the happiest day because WE GET KEYS TO OUR NEW HOUSE!!