Can you smell the cheesesteaks?

We visited the cheesesteak and hoagie capitol, good ole Philadelphia. As a kid I went on many class trips to the Liberty Bell, Independance Hall and Betsy Ross' house, but it's been years since I've been there. What better way to see the city than with the kids via the duck tour. Quack! FUN! The kids get a free duck-calling-whistle-necklace thingy and they quacked their little hearts out - but don't you worry, I slapped an apology out of the guy who handed them out. (just kidding, they were cute) After the morning of sight seeing we wandered some shops in Chinatown and had lunch.

***If you're ever in the Phila. area, be sure to take a ride on the Ducks (unless, you're not into loud quackers) the drivers/captains are entertaining & the boat ride was fun too. Very strange to drive right into the water - but boy, did the kids think that was cool.

Outdoor fun

Last weekend we took the kiddoes on a few day trips not far from home. On Sunday we packed a picnic lunch and went on a hike. The trail was along a cliffside overlooking the water with the most spectacular view. I could hardly stand walking a few feet without whipping out the camera (I had to stop at the request of my husband who claimed that I was slowing them down). Who could resist? Just look at that view. The kids didn't want to slow down either since they were so excited to get to the lighthouse at the end of the mile long trail.

When we reached the clearing of trees the kids raced to the lighthouse door and they were SO EXCITED to be able to go inside. Brent and Scott even braved the crazy stairs and got to look out from the top. Check out the picture of the view from the bottom of the stairs and note the ladder that is at the top of the stairs, my little man went up that too. Brave guy. Me, well, I went half way up the stairs while holding Allie and then totally chickened out. I backed down, scared shitless that I was going to drop her.

Anyhoo, here a few more pictures, the last one of the kids sitting on the lighthouse stairs is my favorite. After I downloaded the last picture I noticed both kids had sandals on that Henry, our pup, chewed and Allie has part of her PB&J sandwich on her face. (Makes me love the picture even more 'cause it really reflects who we are.)

*when I get a chance I'll post our another excursion from last weekend to Historic Philadelphia. Cool pics too.

**Well I survived (barely) my first week back to school. So, that's 1 week down and only 15 more to go until winter break. But who's counting?

The end of summer...

Where has the time gone? Wasn't it just yesterday that summer started? My little man starts school after Labor Day, but I start back tomorrow. Sigh. I can't believe how quickly my break flew by. I had such a long to-do list, some of which was done, and some of which will have to wait until, well, who knows when.

The past two weeks for me has been a cram fest of trying to squeeze in fun days with the kiddoes and getting school/fall clothes and school supplies. We've spent the past few days doing fun family outings, squeezing the last drops out of summer. Yesterday we packed a picnic lunch and went on nature hike up to a lighthouse. We had a wonderful time and the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. It was a great way to end the summer and hopefully create a fun memory for the kids.

I'm starting my final year of nursing school (done in May, thank GOD!) and my intention is to do a better job of setting quality time aside each week for something fun with the kids. The last two years I've been a little over my head and didn't do the best job of balancing school and home. This year will be differet. It has to be different. I can see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel and I realize how the unimportant things will still be there when I'm done - my house will be clean and organized again come May. But, enjoying time with my kids and staying connected is much more important - they can not wait. I'm feeling optimistic, I think (hope) I can keep my priorities in check.

Although I'm sad to see summer end, I look forward to starting school again, since the sooner I start, the sooner I finish. I also LOVE everything that autumn brings....pumpkins, hayrides, scarecrows, Halloween, apple cider, bon fires, crisp air, jumping in leaves and humidity free weather (ahhhh, good hair days).

So, now that I'm diving, head first, into school, it'll be rare for me to post until next year. But in the meantime, I hope you are finding ways to stay connected with your loved ones and finding fun ways to create lasting memories.

Yummy staples and a hard head....

Allison proudly shows off her new bracelet and repeating "we're going to the BEEEEACH!"

Little man with his rigged ice pack: ice from the cooler, visor from mom-mom and sand from, well, the beach. Who needs a first aid kit when you have a cooler?

Any clues from the blog title? How 'bout from the first few pictures?

Last weekend I took the kiddoes to the beach for a long weekend with my mom, sister and niece. I hit the ground running on Friday morning. Up in the morning, breakfast, dressed, loaded kids into the car, picked up neighbor kid, schlepped to VBS to drop off the boy & his buddy. Back home. Quickly packed for beach - as always last minute packer. Off to market with the little one for beach snacks. Back home for 15 minutes to unload snacks. Out to pick up neice from camp (she was riding with me to shore and my sister was leaving straight from work). Took neice and little one to pick up boy & buddy from VBS. Back home & shoved peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in front of the kiddoes. As kids were eating at the table, loaded the bags in the car. After last bag was loaded I was greeted at the garage door by Brent and my neice Jordan. The greeting went something like this:

kids (in unison): "Allison ate the staples"

me: "Huh? Ate staples? What staples?"

kids: "She ate them"

Allison: "See, I ate them." as she grins and then proudly opens her mouth wide

I peek in the back of her throat and mouth and can't see anything. Ummm, now what?

The kids proceed to tell me that Brent was telling Jordan about his cool new back-to-school supplies and he pulled them out to show her. Allison wanted to get in on the action and apparently she not only wanted to see some of the school supplies, she wanted to taste them. She shoved some staples in her mouth and then ran from Brent and Jordan. Brent wrestled her to the ground to try to get the staples out of her mouth & when reached into her mouth, they were gone.

Great. Great . Great. Maybe she spit them out. I ask Allie again "Honey, where are the staples?" "I ate them." Again, proudly opening wide. Great. Great. Great. Shit. Shit. Shit. (No, I didn't say those words out loud - but they played loudly in my head)

Hmmm, my mom is on her way over, bags are in car, kid ate staples. Again, now what? I call the pediatrician and have to say "Hi, ummmm, this is Tammy, Allison .....'s mom, I think she may have eaten some staples." Silence on the other end. I then tell the story and the nurse tells me she'll talk to the doctor and call me back. Two minutes pass and they call back to tell me that they want stat xrays of her throat and chest.

My mom comes in, "Hey everybody, who's ready to go to the BEACH!"

I tell my mom the story, load Allison in the car & send kids to beach with my mom and Allie and I head to the local hospital for xrays. The hospital was quick and efficient and was able to do one film for a foreign body that covered from her chin to her rear end. (Of course, we had every person who looked at her script ask us what she ate. Each person had the same deer in headlights look when I said staples.) Anyhoo, an hour after arrival, the xray was taken and read - no staples. She must have spit them out. Thank God. Off to the beach...

The next morning we were sitting on the beach and Jordan was practicing her stone skipping skills that she mastered the week prior while camping. She finds a silver dollar sized stone and gives her best pitch - the stone skips once and clocks Brent in the side of the head. Rings his bell. He screams and starts stumbling out of the water. I race to see his head and help him out of the water. His head is bleeding, but not enough to warrant stitches. An egg forms immediately. A few minutes later, two inches from the point of impact another site starts to swell, it's just as swollen as the first spot. Now I'm worried. I have no clue what would make his head swell in another spot. I'm about to call my pediatrician and this sweet woman sitting next to us on the beach comes over and lets us know she's a doctor and assessed him right there on the beach. After she assessed him and explained why his head was swelling in several spots, she rigged a sun visor to fit his head and to hold ice. (note picture) For the next 5 hours she checked him like clockwork - looking into his pupils, asking him questions, checking the swelling, all which made his mom feel better.

(Funny story about the nice doctor... She was cute as a button and was very well endowed with a perky, at least D cup, bosom. She was sporting a bikini and every time she would squat down to look in Brent's eyes, I had to repeat "her eyes, big guy." Yep, he was captivated by her cleavage. She was a good sport about it and even got a few laughs at his reaction.)

In spite of the staples and the rock (oh yeah, and a hurt ankle) we had a great time. It would be nice to make at least one more trip to the shore before school starts back up, but that's doubtful, since school is just around the corner.

***About my last post....yep, I was being overly sensitive. PMS. What more can I say. Usually, I'm not thin-skinned, but those few days a month I prove that all wrong. My lucky husband.