At 1700 hours

Monday, October 27, 2014

We spent a weekend at home. No Saturday morning scramble to New Jersey, which I admit was a nice change.

But keeping kids entertained in New York City for the weekend is no small feat. That nice little sliding glass door to the backyard doesn’t exist, making it essential to plan activities with military precision. Comfortable footwear? Snacks packed? Game plan sketched?

With the grandparents in town for a visit, we hit the park at 0500 hours.

It actually wasn’t that early, but it sounds cool.

Speaking of the military…

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Travel

Heaven Hill Farm, New Jersey

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

I once dated a guy from Australia. I won’t go into the details, but if you’d like to read more about that ill-fated situation, you can always check out this post where I discuss things like his fire-fighting skills and clinical amnesia.

This guy, let’s just call him D– once claimed that everything Americans do is done on a big scale. Every movie theater is a Megaplex, every stadium screen is a Jumbotron, every soft drink is a 64-oz Big Gulp.

I acknowledged his point, responding that while yes, this is sometimes the case, America can also be quaint and lovely and not at all grandiose.

Take for instance the Fall Festival that we attended last weekend. The event organizers could have made it over-the-top and glittered with gold. But really, who needs to be the best Fall Festival in town? Not these guys. Modesty was the name of the game.

We were welcomed by some ghostly goblins.

And became acquainted with seasonal farm equipment.

Next we found a carousel…

A Ferris Wheel…

Carnival-moving vans with all kinds of amusements and curiosities …

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Family

Halloween post-date wrap-up

Friday, November 1, 2013

Another Halloween post? Bear with me, because I couldn’t do the holiday justice without a little post-date wrap-up.

Heading into Halloween is always a bit of a challenge. This year was no different. Starting with the wrong outfit that came in the mail. I had ordered an Ariel crown from some untrustworthy online store that I found in a Google search and they sent me a pair of angel wings instead. Not the worst issue, they could have sent me worse. So I decided that for the first year since my early 20s, I’d dress up for the holiday.

The problem is that the kids fought over those wings for two straight weeks.

Finally, older sister prevailed, convincing her younger sister that she was in fact rocking it like Beyonce in her original bee costume. Problem solved.

Sam was over the moon about his Werewolf costume. Here, we have the many faces of Werewolf. Confused wolf (1), affable wolf (2), helpful wolf (3), and scary pantsless wolf (4).

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Family

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Halloween is just around the corner. That’s right parents, it’s the season for getting your little ones geared up with some cute, wild, and occasionally strange outfits. I have to say, that I’m a costume buyer myself. It’s shameful to admit it, but I’m never on top of my A game when it comes to making Halloween costumes ahead of time. So I usually take the easy way out by bringing my kids to one of the Halloween pop up shops that seem to sprout like weeds in our neighborhood at this time of year.

But for those who have the time or energy to make costumes from scratch, I’ve done some research for you. I’ve searched through Pinterest, and have found what I think are the best of the best in a number of important categories.

First up, the cute costumes. Best for babies and young toddlers – is there anything cuter than a little ones dressed up as snap peas in a pod, a bumble bee, or the quintessential Mary’s little lamb. And look at this little dude on the left – Yoda? So sweet.

Next in line, we have the awesome costumes. Parents, please make sure that your child has at least one year dressed in one of these types of outfits. It takes confidence to pull off, but the payoff is significant, resulting in a higher than average candy pull.