February Trip to Massachusetts

Wow. Where have I been the last month? It seems like it flew by. I can tell you where I was for the last week: Massachusetts.

I left warm, sunny Texas for cold, snowy Massachusetts.

I arrived just after a big storm hit. Another storm rolled through after I arrived. I don't think I've seen that much snow since Snowmageddon in 2010. The girls have had snow days the last two Mondays, and they might have another snow day this Monday.

The trip was to help out Valerie. I went last Wednesday and she had surgery on Friday, while Troy was out of town. I stayed for about a week, acting as nanny, chauffeur, and nurse. The snow looked pretty, from inside anyway. Driving around was interesting. The already narrow roads were made even narrower with snow banks.

The coldest part of my week was waiting at the bus stop for the bus. Luckily I bought a new, longer down coat before the trip. I also wore tons of layers.

I made the girls hot chocolate after they were done playing in the snow. I did NOT go out and tromp around in the snow.

The girls helped me make cake balls. I had never done that before.

As we were pulling into the driveway one afternoon, Evelyn spotted some deer. When we realized they were headed for the back yard we went inside and watched them from the window room. The snow was deep--up to the chest of the deer in some areas.

Valerie is doing well. Her surgery was successful. Her recovery will be long and uncomfortable, but I'm glad I was able to go out and help for a while. I just hope the next time I head to Massachusetts it is sunny and warm.

Flashback Friday: Halloween 2009

This is my all time favorite photo of Ross and Julia.

Sewing: 1930s Dress

My latest sewing project was a 1930s dress.  I wanted to have a dress to wear to Evelyn's 1930s birthday party. I bought the pattern on eBay. It had never been used. I didn't have to cut it out (yeah!), but the pieces had no writing on them. All the usual markings were indicated with holes in the tissue paper. The pattern came with directions, and they were fairly easy to follow.

I started with the bodice. It wasn't easy to get on and off when I was done...then I realized I was supposed to leave one side open to make it easier to get on and off. The pattern directions said to insert snaps to close the opening, but I debated putting in a zipper. Turns out that a zipper was never really seen on a 1930s dress. The zipper was a sign of an easy woman! She had that zipper there to get her clothes off quickly and easily! Ha! I can't imagine ripping snaps open taking any longer.....in the end I went ahead and hand sewed in snaps.

I ironed so much for this project! I ironed the pattern pieces--then enlarged them. I ironed at every step of the way, then at the end I washed it all and ironed it all again. Whew! This garment was constructed with a LOT of topstitching. I sewed most of it on my old 1920s Singer sewing machine. In the end I used my new Singer for the blind hem stitch and I did serge some of the seams.

Here we are in our 1930s dresses. Valerie's is actually a vintage dress. It was so awesome! In the end I used a wide ribbon as a belt. I bought some Vince Camuto T-strap oxfords to go with the dress. They were a little small. I am happy with how the dress came out, I'm just not sure when I'll wear it again.

Awesome Weekend

Valerie came to visit this past weekend. When I picked her up at the airport on Friday it was 29 degrees and I was sporting my fur coat. This photo was taken on Saturday. It was at least 70 degrees, and I got really warm sitting in the sun. We shopped and ate our way around the city. We had a great time. Sunday's weather was awesome and we ran around with the top down. Thanks Valerie for coming to visit!

Year of the Zoo: Philadelphia Zoo

Yesterday we tagged along with the Lusters to the oldest zoo in the United States: The Philadelphia Zoo. Again, the big cats were my favorite. 

 Two anacondas knotted together under water and around a bunny

 Black-footed cats.

 Jaguars fighting before getting it on.

 His tail is so poofy!

The tigers put on quite the show with roaring and fighting.

Luster Birthdays

The Luster girls have both recently had birthdays and we got to celebrate with them both. Julia is now 4 and Evelyn is now 8.  They both got great presents, and great cake that they each helped make.

 Julia with her new scooter.

 Julia's castle cake--Valerie decorated it all herself!

 Julia had had enough of the photo taking.

 Evelyn was excited to open every single present.

 Evelyn blowing out the candles.

Super awesome rainbow cake!

Visit with the Luster Girls

I headed over to visit Valerie and the girls on Saturday afternoon. Troy was out of town and Valerie is gimpy after knee surgery, so I went to help out. It was good to see the girls and hang out with them. Evelyn was very helpful and Julia had me reading to her a whole lot. Those two really wore me out. 

On a side note--I went to Target to get some new panties for Julia. They had too many options! Low rise, boy cut, bikini.....and briefs. Heck, I was wearing granny pantie briefs until after college. Now the kids get low rise and bikini?!? Too bad I forgot it was April Fool's and didn't buy some thongs and give those to Valerie for Julia. That would have been a good laugh.

Busy Weekend

On Saturday I went shopping in Pennsylvania with Elizabeth. We went to some outlet malls and the King of Prussia Mall, which is the second largest mall in the country. It was a busy day and although I got some good deals, I don't feel the need to ever go back. I was specifically going shopping for some boots, and I was disappointed to come home without any.

After all the shopping I met Valerie and the girls for dinner at Chick Fil-A. We then headed over to Ulta to buy makeup for Evelyn. Yes, Evelyn. She will be dancing in the Nutcracker and needs her own make up set.  Thank goodness the ballet company gave Valerie a list of approved products. It took us a while to find everything and make our choices. With no guidance we would have been there forever.

Saturday night Bailey had claimed the inflatable bed and didn't run away when the girls got into bed! She even stayed for part of their bedtime story. The girls were great with Bailey and she was really comfortable around them, even laying on her back!

After the girls fell asleep Valerie and I ran to Wal Mart for a makeup case and some other things. I finally got to bed around midnight--the second night in a row of late nights.

Sunday morning we labelled all of Evelyn's make up and Julia gave Valerie and me makeovers with all the new make up. We went to the Dairy for lunch. Even though I told them I only wanted a little bit of ice cream they double packed the first flavor and I had to tell them to stop scooping on the second flavor--and I still couldn't finish it all. I got pumpkin and gingersnap. I really like the gingersnap.

Julia really didn't want to leave. I tried to explain that she had to go back so that she could go to preschool and stuff, but she wasn't having it. When it was time to say goodbye she refused to hug us and said she didn't want to go to preschool.

After lunch I went to a couple of stores and ran out of steam pretty quickly. I took a nap as soon as we got back home. I'm still a little worn out. I'm not used to being so busy.

NYC: Quick Trip

Valerie and I took a quick trip to New York City this past weekend. It was a whirlwind trip. We were there about 24 hours.

Our first stop was to get some food at Peels. Valerie had the shrimp and grits and I had the gobblecado sandwich. We both enjoyed our food. We also had drinks. Valerie went with the traditional Bellini and I had the Jasmine Cooler--very refreshing.

I wanted to go the Crafts on Columbus street fair, so we headed uptown. We took a walk across Central Park--and that is when the rain started. It came down really hard. Despite our umbrellas we were pretty wet. My purse (huge purse) was sticking out, so it was soaked. We waited under some scaffolding for a while, then walked to a couple of stores. The rain eventually let up and we went back to the craft fair. I didn't see the vendor I was specifically looking for--lots of vendors left early because of the rain. I did find some really nice earrings made from Victorian spoon handles. I bought them. The same vendor also had really neat bracelets made from old typewriter keys.

After changing our hotelroom--the first one reeked so badly of smoke I was crying--we dragged ourselves out to dinner in Little Italy. Of course we got some dessert across the street at La Bella Ferrara. We headed up to Times Square, where I guess we spent a long time, because we didn't get back to our hotel until after midnight!

On Sunday we slept in and then went to Ess-a-Bagel for breakfast. We ended up standing in line for 45 minutes and just got (bagel) sandwiches to go--it was almost lunch time. The bagels were huge! We made our way down to the bus stop, and that was the end of our trip. I was able to sleep both ways on the bus. I credit my noise cancelling headphones. I love them. This was a great trip. It makes me want to go back for another quickie trip.

Two new things that I'm obsessed with: getting a bigger, better umbrella, and finding some cool tights. Lots of ladies were sporting fancy tights around the city.

Oh yeah, we walked 5.6 miles!

Photo Month: Day 5: Julia

We saw the Lusters for the first time in a long time yesterday. Julia was being silly after dinner and renaming all her cars (with silly names like Hookarope), but the horse was always Nice Horsey.

Halloween Fun

We headed to Germantown yesterday for some Halloween fun. We carved pumpkins, decorated sugar cookies, and went trick or treating with the girls. I carved the spider pumpkin, Valerie carved the face (that Evelyn chose), and Ross carved Shaun the Sheep. Ross's turned out really well. Trick or treating was a little tricky because it was raining slightly. Poor Evelyn had some trouble walking in her long Glinda dress. That girl made out like a bandit. 100 pieces of candy, and most of it was chocolate!

Today we went to Wally World and Target for post holiday sales. Ross found some candy and I found a set of fall cookie cutters. Now I'm going to have to make some super buttery cookies.

We all thought this was just adorable. Julia was seeking refuge from her big sister and ran to Ross. Check out Val's blog for pictures of the girls in their costumes and the decorated cookies.

Live In Nanny

On Monday Valerie emailed me offering me a job as a live in nanny for the week. She was frustrated because she hasn't been able to work (substitute teach) since she was hired because her babysitter has been sick. Since I don't have a job I decided to help out.

I've been taking care of the girls and I even helped with some of the Halloween party preparations. We filled goodie bags on Tuesday night and yesterday I made a ghost for the pin the eyes on the ghost game. Evelyn's Glinda costume will be covered with sequin-outlined appliques. So, tonight we'll be working with sequin string and the hot glue gun to make those appliques. I'm having a ton of fun here with the girls, but I sure am happy I don't have any kiddos myself. They wear me out!

Sun and Surf

Yesterday we got back from a 3 day trip to the beach. The sun, surf, and sand really wore us out! We played in the sand, swam in the ocean, tried to avoid the jelly fish, rode the waves on a boogie board, and walked on the beach. We had a lot of fun hanging out with the Lusters. I think my favorite part was riding the waves. Ross and I even rode the board in together once. I was the only one that didn't get a rash from being dragged through the sand, but I did get a new bruise from being slammed down into it. We got up early Monday to try and see some dolphins, but all we got was a walk on the beach. We did see a couple later on in the day. Ross flew his kite on the beach until he crashed it into the ocean. I think we'll be finding and cleaning up sand for weeks!

Visiting the Lusters

I headed down to Germantown this week to spend some time with the Lusters. I was super excited about going to the pool. The weather was perfect and we all had fun in the water. I need to figure out the community pool policy in our neighborhood so I can go hang out there when the sun is shining.

I have to admit I wish our area was more like Germantown. They have ethnic grocery stores and restaurants of every kind. I was able to get paneer, Korean bakery bread, and even some boba so that I can make milk tea with boba at home. I visited the library with the girls, and it was amazing! (Our library's self check out system is still cooler.)

The girls wore me out (including Valerie, who took me to bootcamp last night). I came home today passed out for a couple of hours. Now I'm ready for some ice cream!

Susquehanna with the Lusters

We had a great weekend.  On Saturday we cleaned house and then just chilled out all day long. On Sunday the Lusters came over for lunch and then we headed to Susquehanna State Park for a hike. Ross, Troy, Valerie and Evelyn checked out the mill while Julia and I checkout out the river.  We then hiked the green trail.  Evelyn did a great job hiking.  I managed to sneak up behind Ross and scare him toward the end of the hike.  Good times.
Evelyn got a piggy back ride from Ross.
Julia took a nap for a while.  She looked like she was going to fall out of her carrier.
Oh, of course we went to the dairy after our hike.  How could I forget!  Everyone, including Julia, had yummy ice cream.  We drove back from the dairy with the top down and finally got a photo of us girls in the car.  Julia did not actually ride with us.  And poor Evelyn barely fits in the back seat!

Check out more great photos on Valerie's blog post.

Sugarloaf Mountain

We had to go to Leesburg, Virginia to pick up the plates for the Lexus yesterday.   Valerie's place is pretty close to Leesburg--as the crow flies, but not as the roads wind.  We thought it would be fun to take White's ferry across the Potomac to go see the Lusters.  We made it to Germantown, but we had to drive the long way around because the ferry was closed. Grrr! 

We joined the Luster clan for a hike up to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain. We took lots of photos and scrambled around the rocks.  Without Evelyn there I would have been a lot crazier (more reckless), but I wanted to set a good example, so I didn't go jumping from rock to rock or running off-trail (too much).

On the way down Ross and I helped Evelyn with her hiking skills. Ross always says you don't have hands on your butt, so if you want to grab onto rocks on a steep decent, then turn around. Evelyn did a great job. Check out Valerie's blog post for great photos.

It started to rain on the way down, but we were well protected by the forest canopy.  We had snack time at the head of the trail then headed back to the Lusters' house for dinner.

Ross looks so great with a baby.  We don't need a baby, just friends with a baby!  Hahahah.

Babysitting the Little Lusters

Ross and I had a grand time babysitting the little Luster ladies last night while Valerie and Troy went to a baseball game. Before dinner we all went to the park and Evelyn ran back and forth across the park with the kite.

Valerie and Troy provided steaks and cupcakes for dinner (yum!) and we brought along some mashed potatoes and eggplant. After dinner (and a heated debate between Ross and Evelyn about whether Scaredy Squirrel's friend was a cat or a dog) we put the girls to bed and flopped onto the couch completely exhausted. Valerie and Troy came home just before midnight and told us they had a great time at the game. I saw Monty Eich's photo on Valerie's facebook page and Valerie and I ended up chatting about the good old days at Mission Junior High (and looking at photos of our old school chums on facebook) until almost 2am!

This morning I went with Valerie to Julia's swim lesson. It was so fun to be able to use the waterproof function of the camera. Julia is so laid back. The funniest part was when she put her face into the water, made a face, and then did it again and again!

Valerie, Evelyn, and I took a short drive in the Lexus with the top down to go get lunch. After a little more play time it was time for us to come home. The Lusters are some of the most reasonable people I know. I know I couldn't do such a wonderful job raising children. I applaud them. The girls are just wonderful. We had a great time, the only problem was that they wore us out! We had to have a nap before dinner! I can't wait to see them again.