girls vs. boys

Big week..G's first at camp! She is really enjoying the autonomy. Sunday night we discussed how she would be doing lots of things all by herself--choosing what she wanted for lunch, going to the bathroom, changing in and out of a bathing suit. These are small things, but when you have a control freak for a mom....well, let's just say she was THRILLED at the prospect of making some of her own decisions.

See, she couldn't even stand still for a picture on the first day.

I am still adjusting to being mom to a boy. When Gia was 1, she would water our flowers with her little watering can. Very sweet. And then there is Mike:

and in case you are worried and think *I* might be doing that to him...

needless to say--it didn't take long for him to figure out it was really fun to squirt his sister (note in this pic, he is spraying with the hose and trying to wack her with a tomato stake at the same time).

Second child syndrome

I have been asked by many people if I am more relaxed with Mike than I was with G. Ignoring for the moment the implications of this statement... (there's a wide berth between cleanliness and OCD people! Lay off my clorox wipes!)...I will let this picture speak for itself.

It may be hard to see, but those are hot dogs and potato chips...and I didn't even wash their hands first. Nitrates-smitrates, go ahead and call the food police. Oh yeah, they are eating in the trunk of the car too--they thought that was hilarious.

Here is where we got them...

Anyone who has had Hot Dog Annies will agree--the risk of germs is totally worth it (it's the buns--they grill them). After all that, they were the most excited about getting to eat in the trunk. Awesome--guess what sweethearts, tomorrow you can nap in the closet!

Jealous much?

Last Saturday I went on a food tour of Chelsea Market with my family. I highly recommend this tour-especially if you are a fan of...food. Lots and lots of food. You might be thinking, Hey! I like food!..maybe this tour is for me!--well, check it out:
http://www.foodsofny.com/chelseamarket.php

Sadly, there are no pictures of the food. There were cookies, biscuits and jam, gelato, chocolate, lobster bisque; but you will have to take my word for it. Taking a picture would have meant I would have to put the snack down--yeah, right.

Near the end of the tour, our guide also took us to some (non-food) local places. That was ok, we were pretty full by then anyway.
Does this look like the pool from that Sex in the City episode?


Well that's cause it is! (I know-super cool, right?)

...and this is the hotel were the "Cleaver" party from the Soprano's was filmed. (still pretty exciting! admit it!)

and these are the flowers Nina wanted a picture of (this one may be less exciting to everyone but Nina).

Where are your parents?

Every year since G was born, our friend Beth graciously invites me and our friend Tam for a few days at the beach at her mom's cape house. In those early years, it was just us three moms and three girls.

Look at those sweethearts. The three of them are as close as cousins and on their own, they are angels---you might as well remove the words "time out" from your vocabulary. You can chalk that up to their superior intellect and maturity (or as I do, fantastic parenting, whichever). Honestly, hanging out with them is a pleasure--its more like having a little sidekick or teammate.

Its the addition of the other FOUR that starts to make your palms sweat and give you chills.

Holy Cr*p! Where did all those kids come from?

All joking aside, they not only had tons of fun--they were incredibly well behaved for the whole vacation. They were fantastic--especially after we figured out a few "strategies". Examples?

1. Mealtime takes too long--by the time you have a plate of food for #7, #1 and #2 are throwing applesauce at each other. We found that the "foraging" method worked great. Put some food out and eventually those little buggers would find it--(wait, that might be play-doh...)
2. You want the camera...take the camera. Acquiescence is a word I am learning to love.



3. When all else fails--retreat to the porch and tell them its "naptime". (but mom, its only 9:30 in the morning!)



Thanks Everyone for a great vacation!!

~m, gia & mike