#artsplash our Grand Adventures: Philadelphia Museum of Art

i'm starting in the middle/end of our summer Grand Adventures, because this program actually ends on September 7, so you can still make it if you rush!

you know how sometimes places advertise a Kid's Program! then when you get there it's lame, understaffed, out of paper, broken crayons, empty stands where demonstrations should be...that kind of thing. you feel me, right?

well, rest assured--Art Splash at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is NONE of those things. it is absolutely awesome.

let's break it down.

please excuse the crookedness of this photo. i'm blogging, you can't expect photo editing, too...#babysteps

TRANSPORTATION: two moms, one grandmom, 10 kids ranging from 15 to 3. we caught the train (septa regional rail), which is a 5 minute drive from our house, and a 45 minute ride to the city. you can get a Family Independence Pass for $29. it covers 2 adults and up to 5 children on rail, bus and subway for one whole day. plus you don't have to fight the traffic and construction on 95. #ugh

it's about a mile to a mile and a half from Suburban Station to the Art Museum. (you're much closer to the Drexel University Academy of Natural Science, the Franklin Institute, the Free Library, etc.) not really a terrible walk, so long as it's not 200% humidity. but what it lacks in physical coolness is made up for in the idiomatic coolness of culture and experiences (like the homeless town just past the Rodin Museum)

checking out the GIGANTIC screens in the comcast building

real talk: regional rail is relatively clean and safe. mostly commuters headed into or home from work, or college students. if you miss rush hours there's a good chance you'll have plenty of room. and once you get past the hairy parts of making sure your kiddos don't fall onto the tracks (not gonna lie, that gives me all sorts of heart palpitations. even standing 10 feet away and holding on to them for dear life) and making sure you don't miss your train, it's basically stress-free. you can drink your DD and laugh at all the fools stuck on 95.

THE MUSEUM: admission is $20/adult, kids under 12 are free. your ticket is valid for 2 consecutive days, and also gets you admission to the Rodin Museum and the Perelman Building. (plus you get that sweet little metal button with a foldover tab to clip on your shirt, and i'm instantly in 3rd grade again)

there are a lot of discounts if you keep your eyes open. we actually grabbed Groupons for this trip, so we paid a little less. you can check the museum website for more info.

real talk: the museum is obviously an experience in and of itself, but honestly the thought of taking children under the age of 10 into echo-y marble halls filled with priceless works gives me the cold sweats. they. don't. whisper. they don't understand that yes it's a chair but NO DON'T SIT IN THAT CHAIR IT'S NOT ACTUALLY FOR SITTING and no, this ISN'T the museum where you can touch things. but this program helps with that. i'd go so far as to say that Art Splash made us feel welcome, and made the museum feel more accessible.

Art Splash starts in their studio. there's a new "theme" every 2 weeks, and we hit S is for Shadow. the staff (who are super nice) demonstrate an art project, hand out supplies, and let you have at it. no time limits, no pressure.

the studio also has a little reading area with comfy chairs and some toys for smaller siblings who quickly lose interest.

once you're done there, hand over your license and get an Ipad mini. it's all set up with their scavenger hunt type program, based on the book "A is for Art Museum". letter by letter the Ipad leads you around the museum, tracking your progress and congratulating you when you find the next work. At each stop the program gives you a little more: arrange your adult in the same position as the statue, watch a video about how this was made, listen to the  sounds the birds in this tapestry make, use the flashlights to find more details, etc.

it gives them a PURPOSE. there's something for them to DO now, besides walk and walk and NOT TOUCH, and something to look for besides boobies and pee-pees. (you know it's true and don't lie)

you also have access to the closest bathroom location, on demand. thumbs up.

along the way we ran into another art stop, where the kids made and played with shadow puppets. we have big plans of recreating this activity at home.

it took us about 3 hours to do the whole alphabet, with a break for lunch.

the museum seems to be trying hard to involve you in the experience. there's touch screens to explain smaller exhibits, we translated our names into Korean and printed them out, and we only had one run in with security...when the 3 and 4 year olds decided to climb on an ancient column capital. oops.

after we finished and returned our Ipad, we spent some time in the Art Splash Gallery, which is right outside the studio. more artwork on display, including some hands on exhibits. like this magnetic leaf tree, which we rainbowtized for them. you're welcome.

so in case it's not obvious, we had a blast. i highly recommend this activity, and fully plan on doing it again next summer if they have it.

RATINGS:
mom: ☻☻☻☻☺
"ha! made you learn in summer!"

guinevere (age 15) ☻☻☻☻☻
"the art museum is amazing"

harrison (age 13): ☻☻☻☻☺
"it was fun."

ava (age 11) ☻☻☻☻☻/☺ (that's 4.5 happy faces)
"there was a lot of beautiful art"

gigi (age 6) ☻☻☻☻☻
"i number it 10 happy faces"

elliot (age 4) ☻☻☻☻☻
"i liked it super super super much"

BONUSES: obviously, there's letting your kids do the Rocky run up the front steps, even if they have absolutely no idea who or what he is.
Rocky himself is no longer on the top of the steps, he's relocated to an area at the bottom right in the trees.

also, i highly recommend sister cities park, especially if it's hot. it's about a 10 minute walk back towards city hall. they've created an oasis in the heart of the city. kids can explore and splash and burn off the energy built up by all that NOT TOUCHING.

all the things. in one post.

o1) contests, i just don’t know how to quit you. picture me right now doing the beauty pageant hyperventilating hands-on-mouth I CAN’T BELIEVE IT squeal, because i’m in season 9 of project run and play.


for those who don’t know (gasp! how?) it’s only my favorite online sewing competition EV-AH. for realsies. 6 “designers”, 4 weeks, fight to the finish. hopefully the cornucopia is full of japanese cutting shears and high end machines, because i require the best. :/
anyway, there’s a theme for each week, and my brain has been churning since i was asked to be a part of the contest a couple months ago. i’ve been counting down the days and now it’s really happening and i’m all pukey-excited. the actual competition doesn’t start until next month, but for me the sewing begins STAT. i haven’t really sewn in a couple of months now, and there’s a LOT of pent up sewing energy stored in me.
i’m also going up against 4 awesome seamstresses. some i already ‘knew’, others i’m just discovering. and i’m feeling there’s a super big chance i’ll be the first one thrown off the island. or shot with an arrow, whatever competition metaphor floats your fancy. but i’m going to try my hardest to have a blast with this no matter what.

let the games begin.

(you thought i was gonna say let the odds be ever in your favor, right? heh.)

o2) we bought a dog. or, another dog i guess i should say. thing is: i am a hardcore believer in rescues. also, i am cheap as all get out and the thought of spending ooh-gobs of money on an animal makes me throw up in my mouth a little. oh, and i like big, BIG dogs.

well here i am with my tail between my legs. i bought a dog, from a pet store, who is AKC registered and i can trace his lineage back 4 generations. and i paid ooh-gobs of money. and he’s 2.5 lbs.



but that face. THAT FACE. he’s a chihuahua (in case that’s not glaringly obvious) and his name is Santino Burrito. and if you could trill your ‘r’ that’d be great.
he’s technically for gigi, the child who would gladly give up 3 of her 4 limbs to own a cat. but the googiedaddy is prejudiced against things that poop in the house, and i’m prejudiced against things that make me not able to breath. so we found the most catlike dog we could.

o3) i’m seriously lost when it comes to things like SEO and pageviews and stuff. but once in a while i poke around in google analytics for giggles. here is a list of search terms people use that lead them to googiemomma.blogspot.com.



refashioning, sewing, crocheting…all your basics WAIT WHAT?

boobs. on a shelf.

well. i…why? nevermind. i don’t want to know.

o4) the sickies: ava had a foot checkup. insert thumbs up here. doc says all good, no need for casting for a while. picture me doing the dance of joy. yes, like balki.


GIFSoup
i'm so old.

gigi had a blood test which placed her platelets at 770,000. a mere TWO TIMES NORMAL. umm, ok. doc says all good—means her bone marrow has been working like gang busters to catch up, and the immune system has probably stopped killing off platelets so now it’s overcompensating. like peddling a bike really hard up a hill, then you hit the top and start going down but you’re still peddling really hard for a minute until you realize WHOA i made it!
so…a more cautious dance of joy, because she’s still having mild spells of petechiae and occasional bruises that make us go on high alert. nothing warranting a run to the ER, but concerning…

o5) i’m working now. well, i mean like outside of the home. and, not just for the family business. okay—i’m working more. ha. i got a little gig waiting tables at lunch at the local pizza place we frequent. i actually really enjoy it, and i’m making decent money (FABRIC FUNDZZZ.) for doing about 9 hours a week. only problem is i’m finding sewing time a bit harder to come by. and blogging time. oh yeah and cleaning the house time. yesss…that’s why it’s not clean. ;)
but i’ve still got a back log of things i never blogged, and with point #1 on the horizon you can be sure i’m finding sewing/blogging time in the next few weeks! even if i have to cut out something major. like sleep. nah, i need my sleep. sorry kids—it’s pb & j breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next few weeks.

i love to wear my bicycle.

today’s post is a quick and dirty one. found some pics i never posted of a skirt i made myself a while ago.

spring. remember spring? with it’s skirts and bare legs and….not snow?

anyway…i had a 1/2 yard of this bicycle print i loved. and so i cut it in half and sewed it end to end and added a stretch yoga pant type foldover knit waistband to it. i’m fairly certain that’s the technical term, right?

and then i got fancy, so besides my SYPTFKW i decided to add some pockets. in red. because i like a little pop. i’m crazy like that.

and then to top it all off i got a little…errr.. pinteresty shall we say? and paired it with things i pulled from my closet. obviously by holding my hand over my eyes and grabbing. it’s fashion roulette, ya’ll. very invigorating.

and there you have it. quick skirt, probably took me 45 mins total, and it’s awesome for pairing with a tee and flats and running to the food store. in spring. sigh.

course correction.

i don’t set resolutions based on new year’s. i feel like i’m a person in a constant state of flux—the best time to begin something new or make a change is immediately after thinking it over and making the decision in your head. DO IT. right now.
i guess on it’s face that can translate out as slightly ADD tendencies: i think of something, i mull it over, i start. sometimes that process takes minutes, sometimes days.
but i’m easily bored and—these days—extremely forgetful, so if i don’t get going immediately chances are it won’t happen.

what was i talking about?

oh. so i had a big thought, and i’m acting on it. thing is, i haven’t been feeling like the greatest momma lately. life, tired, stressed, sicknesses, sewing, cooking, cleaning, blogging, working…blah blah blah. bottom line it: too much, and my babies were getting the short end of the stick.

they were getting meals, and baths, and clean laundry. they weren’t getting tickles, and songs, and silly faces. they didn’t have mommy just sitting on the couch sans phone/project taking up the place in my lap where they should be. there was a lack of tower building, game playing, picture drawing. too much time in front of the tv. too much.

every evening i crawled into my bed—i need “me” time, even if that trite phrase isn’t how i put it in my head. i didn’t want to be mommy anymore—no more questions, no more Solomon like decision making, no more barking out orders. my kids were left to their own devices so i could clear my head with some crocheting and telephonernetting.

there’s nothing wrong with that—every mommy needs her time and space. it makes for a better mommy. but i was becoming a selfish mommy. i did the things i HAD to do. the things that keep our family alive and relatively functional, meanwhile retreating further and further away from being a Momma who’s there and present and engaged. i realized i was not even LOOKING at my children. conversations were happening while my eyes and 50% of my attention was focused elsewhere. that is huge, because looking someone in the eye is a mark of respect as far as i’m concerned. and as much as they need to respect me as a parent, i need to respect them as people. i was failing miserably.

i was mothering just enough to begin to hate mothering. i’m doing all the grunt work, without taking the time to enjoy all the rewarding stuff. it was twisted up in my brain—do the hard stuff and my reward was alone time, instead of my reward being pleasant times with my children.

and it shows in them, too. picking at each other, fighting…a general feeling of annoyance in our home. it was me thinking about all that—how we got to this place where there was shouting and fighting so much when they used to get along and cooperate so well—that brought me to my senses. the fact is they’re confused. with so much time spent parenting themselves and each other the lines between sibling relationships were become blurred and lost. everyone has their place in the home, and i was neglecting mine, leaving a large hole that my children kept tripping in.

i’m not perfect. obviously. but i’ve been thinking—hard—about what is happening in my life and my home and my family right now. i feel like there is a giant clock ticking over my shoulder. i suppose it’s along the lines of a woman’s biological clock—once the children have come it starts counting down the hours and days you have to perfect this parenting gig.

tick tick tick you have a 13 year old daughter. have you taught her the important things about womanhood that she needs to know? are you giving her  a good self-image? is she learning the life skills she’ll need to thrive? does she have a relationship with her father that’s strong enough to keep her from seeking out the creepy boys and men that prey on girls with daddy issues?

tick tock tick tock you have an 11 year old son. have you built up your relationship with him to a good enough place that you’re ready to face the coming trials of tween/teen-agehood? is he learning the skills and lessons to become a good man, husband, father someday? is he learning from you the right way to treat women, to eat dinner (not like a cow), to hold the door open for people?

tick tick tick you have a 9 year old daughter. she is the middle child and feels her divided place strongly. sometimes she’s grouped with the older siblings, sometimes with the younger. she needs more attention, more understanding, more patience. are you doing that? or are you pushing her away because she’s clingy and you’re crushing candy? how much will you regret that decision when she’s 15 and doesn’t want to talk to you anymore?

tick tock tick tock you have a five year old daughter. she’s spunky and friendly and if there’s anyone who will run off with a stranger to help them find their puppy it’s HER. have you taught her enough? she’s going to kindergarten in 8 months and wants to learn so badly. you promised to do “home preschool” with her and the supplies have sat unused for months. why?

tick tick tick you have a 2 year old daughter. this morning you sang twinkle twinkle with her in bed and couldn’t remember the last time you did that. or read a book together. she sang her ABC’s to you and you knew you weren’t the one responsible for teaching her that. she’s asking where “ava-mommy” is. did you color together today?

my clock is ticking—loudly and harshly. fortunately it’s also an alarm clock. i’ve pushed snooze one too many times and it’s time for me to wake up. i get one shot at this parenting thing, and i’m not going to do it perfectly, but i can certainly do better than i am now.

so i’ve been absent from here. no blogging, no blog reading, no less hours spent wasted on googling such vital things as “subway tile with gray grout images”. i’ve put down my phone and done less instagraming, less texting, less stupid stupid game playing. i’m trying to find a new balance—one that let’s me do the grunt work, enjoy the rewarding children time, and still have the husband and wife time and the just shannon time. dude. that’s not an easy task.

so please excuse the dust while my life is under renovation.

that green dress.

so. you know how something can start as a vaguely formed idea/wish (hey, lets all get really fancy for the formal dinner onboard our cruise. like long fancy dresses. oh yay! fun!). and then, for some reason, the more difficult it becomes to find/fulfill that wish, the more DESPERATELY IMPORTANT it seems to become?

our 15th anniversary cruise was with 3 other couples, all celebrating an anniversary. and some of us girls hit up a couple of stores prior to the cruise. fancy dresses! yay! only, no.

TAKE NOTE, FASHION DESIGNERS OF THE WORLD: you’re sorely overlooking an entire swath of the population. there are women—YOUNG women. mothers, wives, 30-somethings, occasionally in need of gowns.
not teeny boppers heading to their junior prom in need of a too-tight too-short polyester look-at-my-butt dress.
not mothers of the bride needing a sensible machine-washable dress and sparkly jacket set with a smattering of lace and sequins to pair with comfy flats.

we want something pretty. and fashionable. and with a little bit of bling. and something that shows off our figures but doesn’t give away the farm. something that makes the husband remember why he married us 15 years ago—and i’m not talking about our savvy couponing skills or amazing ability to get the whites whiter--and makes us feel like a wooooah-man, not a mommy. meaning: NOT black, and NOT empire waisted.

oh, and we don’t want to spend $400.

is that really too much to ask? where do you go for this? no, i’m really asking you. because i went to 4 different malls, 3 “gown” shops, 4 thrift shops, and spent—seriously—about 20 hours shopping for such a dress.

and the more i COULDN’T FIND such a dress, the more determined i became that i NEEDED such a dress.

now i’m not gonna lie—there were some dresses that fit the bill. kind of. i fell in love with one--but it was clearance, a discontinued style and color, and try as i might it was not fitting over the “ladies”. and that was a huge part of my frustration—my body shape and size. according to a “Standard Women’s Size Chart” i looked up (which a quick google search will provide about 1.2 million, and each one is slightly different because WOMEN’S FASHION HATES WOMEN), my bust size requires a women’s plus size 20-22, my waist is a missy’s 16, and my hips are between a missy’s 12-14. basically i’m an upside-down triangle.

and if i want to buy a dress that isn’t knit and zips over my bust, i will literally be swimming through yards of excess fabric from the waist down.

i shopped and shopped and shopped. ladies, my DAD was in a store texting me photos of dresses. my DAD.

now my husband—he’s an amazing man. he supports just about everything i do, and rarely, RARELY puts the kibosh on any of my hair brained adventures. but in discussing this lack ‘o dress sitch his exact words were “to me, it’s worth you buying a $500 dress for you not to make your own.”

he could see which way the proverbial dress winds were blowing, and he tried heading it off at the pass. and i don’t blame him—i have rarely attempted something of this magnitude, and it’s about a 50/50 split on dresses i’ve made myself that are worn vs. those bathed in lighter fluid and burned with much wailing and beating of the chest in anguish. so, you know…it’s a crap shoot.

but the more i looked, the more i couldn’t dismiss the thought that i could DO this. my skills have grown since the last time i tried sewing a dress for myself (probably 4+ years ago). and if nothing else—it was worth a shot. ONE TRY. one muslin, and at the first sign of weeping or wailing or the gnashing of teeth i pull the plug.

ok, you’ve held out this long. i’ll give it to ya straight. i did it.

if you follow me on IG it’s not a big surprise (#operationcruisegown). but it’s something i’ll be saying for a while: I DID IT.

do i have any better photos of myself wearing it than this cropped group shot screen capped from my instagram account? no, no i don’t. #derp.

i started HERE, an awesome FREE princess seamed bodice pattern generator. you plug in your measurements and it guides you through drafting a bodice pattern step by step.

it wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. i needed more room in the bust, took out lots from the underbust area, nudged in the back and sides, brought the top higher and the back in a smidge. then i recut a second muslin, this time drafting in the hips. basically a strapless dress to my knees.

that was where i was when jeremy came home from work and found me stitching away, sheepishly side-eyeing him when he asked what are you doing?

one try, babe. i promise. let’s see how it goes.

muslin #2 was working. i needed a looooot off the hips, a little more bodice tweaking…but with about 2 hours of work i had created a muslin/pattern that i was fairly confident in. and that was a LOT quicker than the hours and hours and hours i spent shopping.

so i waited a week to let it stew and then headed to joann’s with coupons in hand and no earthly idea what kind of fabric i wanted.

oh, didn’t i mention? i didn’t actually have a dress design. more a thought: strapless, fit and flare design, something sparkly along the top.

 

17 days until the cruise (and 10 days until we left for cape cod) and i had a scrap paper with a sketch and some vague fabric measurements. and my man, who got on board the sew-a-dress train. woo! woo!
we narrowed it down to three: a gorgeous chocolate brown stretch satin (which was my ideal fabric choice), a red tone-on-tone plaid taffeta, which we though would be pretty cool, a la jeffrey sebelia, and a faux dupioni silk in olive.

went with the olive, and not just because it was less than $6/yard. that was a bonus, but it was also NOT BLACK and i liked it. and then got a watermelon pink lining fabric for it, because…why not?

 

even with coupons i managed to spend a cool $100. eek! but i waaaay overbought on the fabric, and those rhinestone things ain’t cheap—even for plastic!!!! that trim was over $20/yard! and it’s plastic!!! more exclamation points!!!!!!

okay, so some nitty gritty sewing details: i did the lining first, and tweaked it a little more still before i cut the green fabric out. i figured out the flare of the skirt by measuring a couple of gowns i have in that shape (one from my brother’s wedding, one that no longer fits). each fell somewhere between 130”-140” around. so i split that between my different pattern pieces, adding in seam allowance. i sewed and took apart the lining about 3 times, basting in a zipper each time so i could try it on and recheck the fit.

when i finally knew i couldn’t delay any longer—it was time to cut the dress fabric—i was, shall we say, a bit nervous. i did all that in one night: lining cut, sewn, adjusted, etc. etc. etc., finally taken apart and used as a pattern to cut the green fabric, then resewn a final time.

the flared part of the skirt is separate on the lining, but on the actual dress it’s all one piece. the dress is only 5 pattern pieces total, with 2 darts in the back for fitting. that’s it. the shape is all in the cut of it.

the next day i did the green. thing is—i put so. much. effort. into making sure the muslin and then the lining were as good as i could possibly get them, that the actual dress was…well…ain’t no thang. you know? and that a little bit freaked me out. i had a lining, i had a dress, and i was almost done. it seemed too easy!

but let me tell you: that lining is doing some major work. i reinforced the top with sewn in interfacing, and boned the entire thing. i was going to put in a waist stay also—i didn’t want to be yanking up my gown all night long. but in the end it didn’t need the waist stay. i had fitted it so much that it wasn’t going ANYWHERE.

so the lining and the dress are attached at the top and along the zipper.

oy the zipper! i wanted an invisible zipper, and it needed to be at least 12” for me to be able to get into the dress. joann’s had nothing close, colorwise (their olive zip only goes to 9”), and i ended up down on fabric row in philly hopping from store to store looking for the perfect zipper! (obsessive, much?) i bought 3, and fortunately one worked, even though it was more grey than green.

i hemmed the dress with one of my favorite techniques: enclosing a small piping in the hem to give it some body and stiffness. i had bought a few yards of pink tulle to potentially attach to the lining for some fluffiness factor at the bottom, but this accomplished the same thing without having to fight with sew any live cats tulle.

i put a row of rhinestone buttons down the back, and a rhinestone trim around the top band. i actually made the dress from the wrong side—the shiny side—of the fabric, and added a band of the dull (right) side of the fabric along the top.

final details: i made a little clutch to match, adding a pin i had gotten in my mad grab-whatever trip to joann’s. of course that’s necessary on a cruise. where else will i put my seapass and uhhh…lipstick? i wore my mom’s earrings and necklace from my brother’s wedding, and mom bought me these shoes at the thrift shop for $3.99 before i even had a dress. they were my size, and looked never worn. too good to pass up.

and there it is. my 15th anniversary dress, in all it’s (unironed because i just took it out of the suitcase for these pictures) glory.

and now, at the very end, do you want to know the super duper sad part of my dressy tale? :( the night i wore it, i was absolutely miserable. a uhhh…monthly friend had come to call. and all i wanted to do was go back to my room, put on some sweats and crawl in bed. with ALL THE CHOCOLATE and ALL THE IBUPROFEN.

sounds like i’m going to need another cruise, right? ;)

edited to add: let’s not end on a sad note. here’s something i just remembered—about 2 hours into the wearing of this dress, i reached down and felt something pointy on my side. my friends watched amazed as i fished a needle—still threaded, and still attached—from the side seam of my dress. oops. this is what happens when you say “i should try this on one last time before i pack it, but i’m not going to because i feel like i’m tempting fate each time and one of these times i’m going to rip/spill/shred something.” lolololzzz.

vacation: all i ever wanted.

well, it’s over.

weeks of preparation: packing, sewing, cleaning and cleaning and cleaning, organizing, cooking, shopping…all done.

if you follow me on instagram you’ll know what we’ve been up to. back-to-back trips-- two weeks ago we left for our annual family trip to cape cod. saturday to thursday spent in a lakeside house with grandparents and uncles and aunt and friends.

this is SOOC—no filters at all. amazing, right?

all the usual fun—huge meals, lobster dinners, gorgeous sunsets, fishing off the dock, mini golf and batting cages. it’s quality family time snuggling up with our babies. and laughing. lots and lots of laughing.

and then one night at dinner our kiddos surprised us with an early anniversary gift. they went online (storybird) and wrote a book for us. they ordered it with help from the grandparents and paid for it with their allowances.

we had absolutely no idea.

so when we opened the little package that they had wrapped up and started reading this “Story of US”, well…it was a serious ugly cry.

i honestly can’t remember the last time i cried like that. it seems like maybe? possibly? we’re doing something right? i hope. i do know that this will be something that’s treasured forever.

i can’t even write this now without tearing up. 

::deep breath::

okay so…we came home on thursday and spent friday and saturday in a mad dash of repacking, food shopping, dinner freezing, and yes—last minute sewing. because that next sunday we left for our 15th ANNIVERSARY CRUISE! three other couples joined us in celebrating anniversaries. between all of us there was 57 years of marriage and  14 children left behind with grandparents and aunts and uncles—for pretty much the first time.

jeremy + i haven’t left our kids for more than one night since we had them. and considering guinevere was born after 1.5 years of marriage…well, i’d say it was long overdue.

a one week cruise from bayonne, NJ to sunny bermuda and back again—just what the doctor ordered for all of us.

warwick bay beach

it was gorgeous. we snorkled and swam and relaxed. there was an incredible amount of food eaten. and i laughed so hard i think it counted as an ab workout.

tobacco bay beach – awesome snorkeling. until i came face to face with a moray eel. (insert mental image of me frantically splashing and screaming “EEEEEEEL” through my snorkel)

we had goals for this trip, and i think we checked off every one.

formal night. some hot mommas and handsome fellas ;) who were made to put roses in their mouths by the photographer.

1) to refer to each other as “shannon” and “jeremy”, not “mommy” and “daddy”.
2) to not cut up anyone’s food but our own at the dinner table.
3) in line with #2, to not wipe anyone’s bottom but our own in the bathroom.
4) to not worry about the time or look at a clock, except as far as to determine when the next onboard show was.
5) to sleep whenever we wanted, for however long we wanted.
6) to not wear the “mom uniform”, but to fix my hair and put on my makeup and wear cute stuff—even to breakfast.

check mark on all of those. they were 100% accomplished. and yesterday morning we were excited to see our babies, but very very very sad it was over.

all four couples have been instagramming and texting back and forth things along the lines of “i ordered a coffee and ice water, and no one brought it to me!” or “would you believe there’s no chocolate sensation in my refrigerator!?!?”

it’s been a rough return to reality. if my stinking house would just stop swaying back and forth i may be able to accomplish something. ;) now if you’ll excuse me, i’m off to snuggle my googies a little more.

sweat ‘n sew

the sweat:

i hit week 4 of couch-to-5K a month ago. A MONTH. for various reasons i’ve been unable to make the jump to week 5.
until today.

i did week 5, day 1 this morning (a run 5-walk 3-5-3-5 combo) and i felt great. really. it’s insane to me. i’ve never been able to run so much as a 1/2 mile. shoot, 1/4 mile was too far. no matter how good of shape i was in, i’m no runner. between the asthma and…well, the “ladies”…i don’t exactly have a runner’s physique.

and tomorrow i go a solid 8 minutes.

i’m also into week 2 of 30 days of green smoothies. it’s…okay. i’ve made my peace with not chewing. and i think i may actually be seeing some results. possibly.

the sew:

really this is like a Flashback post. Way back Wednesday? whatever. because this skirt + blazer were made for guinevere. as you can see…

it was made for an 8-year old guinevere, and somehow got missed for ms. ava, and so now it’s a touch too small to wear. but before it goes back up to the attic to await an 8-year-old gigi* i wanted to get some pics. for posterity.

*really gigi will probably be 12 before this fits her. but at least the letter will be right again.

they were so cute in their matching outfits. i blogged about a 4-year-old ava’s here. and what i don’t have pics of is the matching tie i made harrison. :(

all my three babies in matching burberry-ish plaid found at wallyworld for $1/YARD. it never gets old saying that. ONE DOLLAR.

i used a pattern for this, and i remember clearly how i struggled with that blazer. and how stinkin’ proud of myself i was when i conquered it and it was wearable.

these outfits were the first time i sewed where i felt like it was GOOD. you know? i felt like i was proud of these, and they didn’t look “homemade”. these dresses were a turning point in my sewing—where i really felt like this was something i could do. i was proud of how each girl’s dress was a nod to their age: the vintage peter pan collared dress for the 4 year old, the more sophisticated blazer and skirt for the 8 year old, tied together by matching fabrics and black velvet accents.

but clearly i still had things to learn…like matching plaids on a back seam. couldn’t be bothered back then, i guess.

ha. who am i kidding. i still can’t really be bothered. ;)

so long and thanks for all the chews.

so on friday i had my wisdom teeth out. yeah, i know—you’re supposed to have that done when you’re a teen.

but my teeth weren’t a problem until i started having babies. then they came in one by one. every pregnancy was another wisdom tooth, another cavity. boo.
the bottom 2 impacted, the top 2 in but sooo far back that i couldn’t brush them. it was a huge cavity in the top left guy that finally forced me to make the appointment.

so off we went to the oral surgeon—me hopped up on a valium + laughing gas + whatever it was they put in the IV. i thought everrrrrything was soooo funny.  BUT…i was awake and aware of everything happening. and about halfway through the procedure i was no longer laughing. i was still very relaxed, but also wide awake. i wanted to tell the doc, but that’s a little difficult when your mouth has that metal…uhh…mouth speculum thing in it? so i started singing along to the piped in music, hoping that would give him a clue.

“oh, are you singing?” he laughed at me. okay, well that didn’t work. apparently singing isn’t too unusual. but whatever. i guess there was enough meds that i wasn’t too worked up.

by the time they moved me to the recovery area and brought jeremy in i was wide awake and fine. packed full of gauze but trying to talk because, well, i’m an idiot? and then trying to explain to the receptionist that no i didn’t owe her $90, i only owed $26 and pulling up my EOB on my phone to show her. with a numb face and mouth full of gauze.

type-A personality, anyone? hope i didn’t drool on her shoulder.

so because i’m a special snowflake my bottom two teeth gave the doc a run for his money. he said they were the worst he’s had all summer. stupid 33 year old teeth were quite settled in and didn’t was to leave. he gave me some meds in the IV for swelling, and a script for more swelling reducing medication, in addition to a powerful pain med and antibiotic. sheesh.

me + pain meds? nope. puke city. so i switched quickly to just ibuprofen and ice (pea) packs, and that’s where i’ve been since.

i spent the weekend crocheting, candy crushing, movie watching gumming crackers and mashed potatoes and I’M ALL DONE NOW.

but the doc warned me that the swelling would continue to increase through monday because of how nasty those bottom 2 teeth were. i hadn’t noticed a huge difference this morning from yesterday…then i realized that i have to push my cheeks out of the way to close my mouth or i would bite down on them. huh. i guess the swelling moved inside.

so here i am, hubby back to work, kids of school-age schooling, and the little two Just Dance-ing. i’m ready to throw down a handfull of pills that are supposed to make me better, and then i’m off to find something to gum for breakfast.

mashed potatoes and eggs, anyone?