Apples and Trains

We love September and apple picking. Milburn orchards is just 5 minutes down the road from us so we've been going apple picking every weekend.  Carlita loves helping me bake. We made apple custard pie and apple crisp pie. Hmmm!!

Luke has really gotten into cars and trains this month. Just loves them so we decided to go to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad museum in Baltimore, MD. It was the Smithsonian Free Museum Day so we got free admissions to the museum. Sandra, Sofia, and my dad met us there so it was a huge family affair. It was so much fun. We got to take a little train ride and then the kids went on a kiddie train and we had lunch under a pavilion.

I had to leave for a baby shower for my friend, Zakia, so Karl and I let the kids with Sandra. It was the first time she took care of them all together and she survived. Karl and I had the most difficult time getting to the baby shower. Damn google maps! But we got there, and Karl went back to the museum (in a different direction). I spent the afternoon at the shower helping Samanta (who was there too) run the baby shower. It was a lovely affair and I am so proud of Zakia. She's three weeks away from giving birth and she was in her model heel shoes. Go on girl! Samanta, our friend, Freddy, and I pretty much helped get the party going and ending. I was on the mic announcing the presents as they were being opened. Samanta gave the presents and Freddy collected them. What a team! Finally it was over, we cleaned up, and took Freddy to the bus station (she was heading back to NYC). Samanta and I drove back to Delaware and were pooped out.

 

On Sunday, we were home-bodies. Went to church, lunch, napped, dinner, and then I was off to my evening meetings. It was a great way to end a busy September month.

Last weekends of Sept. fun

It's been a crazy Sept. On Thursday, Sept. 16th I took Carlita again to Cherry Crest Farm adventure. We had a "boomerang" special that we can go back as many times up to Sept. 18th. Karl already took her but I wanted to go again so off we went.We had a blast going on everything but her favorite was playing in the pit of corn (as you can see in this picture). We had a great morning together but I had to get to Maryland for an interview so we headed back home to daycare. Carlita wasn't too happy about this - she wanted to stay with me all day but we couldn't.

Then on Friday the 17th and Sept. 18th I was busy with Strengthsquest training for our department so Karl took the kids off to Boomers, the same place I took Carlita to on her birthday. I also was on call for the campus so I was busy with different crisis situations. We had a special pass for two more visits so off they went. They had a blast and I received updates throughout the day on how they were doing with crazy pictures Karl sent me from his phone.

On Sunday, Sept. 19th we split up kid duty. Karl had a luncheon at his boss's house in Philadelphia. I couldn't leave town so Karl took Carlita and I had Luke. We went off to Newark Community day. This is a great community-university event. One of the main streets is closed down and tons of vendors and community groups set up tables for you to learn more about them. There's a small kids section, tons of churches and social conscious groups, as well as dance and dog clubs. Luke had a blast seeing all the activity around him. We ate lunch there and then headed home for an afternoon nap. Then 3pm Carlita and Karl were back and I took Carlita to the fair. She got to do art projects and won a free pizza party at a karate place. We had a blast and then returned home for dinner with my staff and then I was off to run my staff's in-complex meeting. What a great weekend of fun!

Videos and Pictures from Carlita's party

Videos and Pictures from Carlita's Birthday, 2010

Carlita and her cake

Carlita and Luke dance to One-Man jam

Pictures of Carlita turning 5


Scenes from Carlita's party


Pinata Time

Carlita's Princess Party

Carlita's fifth birthday party was celebrated on the 11th of September this year.  The day started at 8am getting the party room set-up. We quickly went to Milburn's Orchards to get apples for the party before Tia Sandra, Abuelo, and Sofia arrived. Once they did, Lulu went off to pick up the food and cake.

Lots of friends and family came down (or up) to celebrate with her and the family, including Aunts Fran and Laura, Samanta, godparents Tara and Mike, Abuelo, Tia Sandra and prima Sofia.  Sandra and Sofia arrived early and were a big help in setting up the party--and the kids got extra time to play.  Lots of friends from Carlita's school, and their parents and siblings came from school. 

With everything in place, kids and friends arrived and got the party started. The party was a blast--we set up the backyard with all sorts of activities, including pool, toss beanbags and buckets, parachute and backyard baseball. The kids hit the pool for the first hour, making up crazy water games. The baseball was a big hit, as well as kids pushing each other down the hill in Lukie's toy "Glitter girl" car.  Inside was toy heaven, and food central.  We had all types of toys for kids to play with, as well as a tiara making center which the kids loved. We ordered pizza (many different types--hawaiian, cheeseburger, pepperoni, besides basic cheese), which was really delicious, and the cake was princesstastic (three princesses on the cake). 

After eating, the kids went outside and took swings at the princess pinata. This was hilarious with how many turns it took to break that thing, but finally it did and the kids got their candy.

If the cake was not princessimous enough, Carlita's gifts included a full princess outfit, princess bags, rings, and everything else a princess could use. Luckily, there were a few games that had nothing to do with princesses to provide a tiny bit of variety. Unfortunately, Abuelo, Tia Sandra and prima Sofia had to leave early (actually right before opening presents), and they were missed.  But Fran and Laura were absolutely lifesavers because they stayed late until the clean-up was finished.  Absolutely wonderful!  They probably saved us several hours of additional cleanup time.  Their efforts were greatly appreciated. 

All in all, it was a very successful birthday party--Carlita had a great time and was very happy (if a bit overprincesstisized), and the parents were absolutely wiped out.  Wouldn't have had it any other way!

Carlita turns five

Can you believe it? Carlita has turned five. How did that happen? Leading up to her birthday on 9/9/10 Carlita had been talking about turning five. To every person she met she would explain that she was four right now, but that she was turning five soon. Very cute!

So on her birthday, she got a special Mommy and Daughter day. We started off going to the Herr's Potato Chip factory in Nottingham, PA. This was a great place to visit (and it was free). We got a great tour of the factory and got a chance to eat hot potato chips right off the line. That was so yummy. After shopping at the "oops" section in the store, we ate at Chipper's snack bar (their mascot) for lunch and then we went off to Boomers Family Fun Zone, an indoor play zone in Avondale, PA. Lucky for us they had a deal--for one admission, you get two more admissions free. There were a few people there, so Carlita had the run of the place. There was a fun zone and an inflatable section. Carlita went crazy all over the place and played some games.

After a few hours, we were ready to move on. We drove down to a store called Once Upon a Child (a second hand store for kids items) for a quick shop and then off for some ice cream at Woodside Creamery. Carlita ended up not wanting any ice cream, so off we want for the special treat of the day: A pedicure and manicure.  I arranged for our Mother-Daughter spa experience at La Petite Salon, on PaperMill Rd. I didn't know what to expect and how Carlita would do, but she did wonderful. Her treatments were done in the "express" version, so she was done much faster than I was. She did struggle with the foot scrub and just waiting for the nail paint to dry as I got my treatments, but she did very good. The atmosphere in the salon is very teeny-bopper and had lots of bright colors. Carlita danced and talked and danced around. It was a great memory-making experience.

After our spa fun, we headed home. Karl was able to make a cake for her and she got to open her presents from us: a One-man jam guitar, hello kitty dolls, and princess figures (well Luke got her that). She really enjoyed her day and her princesses. Now that she is five, Carlita is the oldest kid in her classroom. She has a new set of friends and a new beginning. It's amazing how these five years have gone by. Carlita has evolved to such a cool kid. She can be a princess one day, but be climbing up a tree the next. She has bumps and cuts all over. She loves her shows: WordWorld, Curious George, and Dora the Explorer. She loves her brother, Luke, who follows her every step. She still struggles sleeping by herself and controlling herself. She can get very wild and crazy. She loves moving her body and showing off her artistic skills. We have so much artwork around the house we can open a kid gallery. Her vocabulary is off the charts and she always likes to surprise or shock you. Carlita is very much an extension of Lulu's personality with Karl's physique. She broke us in as parents and leads the way in preparing us for the next evolution. We love you Carlita and happy birthday. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. You make everyday special and memorable.

Love your familia, Lulu, Karl, y Luke

Labor Day weekend - Sept. 3-6

Finally it was labor day weekend. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the Y pool almost every day of this week (well Karl did with the kids). I had another on campus interview on Friday, so Saturday we enjoyed staying home, going to the pool and going out to eat Cici's. Sunday we went to the Delaware Museum of Natural History and back to the Y pool. Then on Monday we headed down to the beaches, this time going to Fenwick Island State Park. 

It roughly took us two hours to get down there and it was worth it.  This beach is right at the border of Delaware and Maryland and is very family-oriented. Once at the state park, we ate lunch and then hit the sands. The water was warm and the kids enjoyed digging holes and looking for shells. Carlita actually spotted a dolphin in the water. I was amazed! But the fun had to stop and we headed back home, which took almost three hours due to an accident. We wanted to go to the pool just one more time, so we made it to the last hour at the Y Western pool. There was an inflatable slide which Carlita went down only one time due to the cold water. After being at the beach, none of us wanted to get into the water. Karl got us pizza and after dinner we headed home.

The long weekend was over and the last summer hooray was done. Now we get into the swing of the school year with church chorus, gym classes, and work. What a life!

Surviving August

As many of you know I work in the field of residence life aka student affairs aka higher education aka my life doesn't exist in August. It's a lifestyle that I have been accustomed to since I started going to college in 1992. But with kids that lifestyle gets challenged every year. Karl is used to "single parenthood" during this month. He knows the crazy hours and training schedule we crazy ResLife professionals come up with. But how do you explain this to a 5 year old and a 2 year old? You can't and why try. All they know is that Mommy is at another meeting or that she isn't putting them down to bed. So we really tried to carve as much family time during these 140 hours plus work weeks.

Hall director training started Aug. 5th. HD training isn't too bad with work. I managed to get all my work with my HDs done during the day so that my evenings were reserved for my family. I am lucky to have very competent hall directors who didn't need my attention every moment. So the weekend of Aug. 14th I got family time and we headed to the beach (see Last weekend with Lulu post) but it was back to work on Sunday evening.

Then RA training started Tuesday, Aug. 17th. Daily schedule from 9am-5pm and then evening hall staff meetings which allowed me to have some family time. Karl took the kids into daycare every day. I had to pick them up some days due to Karl's night work schedule. I would rush from the last training session, drive all over town, and take the kids to the dining hall. Due to training we get to eat in the dining hall all month, which saves on food expenses but also food prep time. The kids love eating at the dining hall. All they can eat and all the people they can meet. After dinner we get home, baths, story time and then bedtime. Then off I would go to a meeting or prepare for the next day of training.

Sometimes I didn't see the kids at all. Thursday of this week I had a half hour with them at the dining hall before I had to run off to safety training night. Then came RATcamp which is 2-night overnight retreat we take the RA staff to. Saturday through Monday I was away, conducting team building, dancing, and doing lipsync rehearsals while Karl managed at home. He took the kids to the pool alot and tried to get afternoon naps in.

Once back, the second week of RA training is more intense. Getting up early to start at 8:30am, going full force all day, and then evening training sessions. We had to prep the halls for early check-in and then for the full blast of move-in. Karl did a wonderful job managing the apartment and the kids.

The students moved in and opening weekend events came and went and the first day of classes started. But the work doesn't stop. Now we have roommate issues, new student team development, and random student issues that arise. We are getting re-adjusted to not having this whole place to ourselves. Kids can't run around at whatever time they want. Karl is getting used to again students knocking at our door at all hours of the night. And I'm getting back into the habit of evening meetings. I'm going to try to limit those or balance that with no meetings on the following day to allow me more balance and time with the kids. But we all survived the August madness for one more year. Now the true craziness begins.

Rayst Lipsync

Some of you wonder what I do in the month of August. Here's a highlight: