mama sure cleans up nice

last greenbrier post. until next year. i promise. i think.

i will try to stop saying,
"at the greenbrier..." or
"remember when i went to the greenbrier?"
and other such comments.

anyway, this post is more about pajama mom at the greenbrier, and not the actual place itself.

i took my best clothes. my new shoes. makeup. jewelry. i looked completely put together.

and a curious thing happened...

no one looked at me like that "frazzled" mom. you know - the one in the jeans and sweatshirt. wearing a ball cap and tennis shoes. no makeup.

not that i mind my day to day look. at least i think i don't mind. but being all sparkly for a weekend has me thinking. have i fallen in a rut? or is the "frazzled" mom look the one i was going for all along? do i really care either way?

so since i've been home i've been trying a little harder to look like a "normal" person again. not the heels, no, not the dang heels. but more put together. most days. so far.

and i know it's working because just the other day m said, "mommy, you changed your earrings! are you going somewhere?"

oh, yes, i'm going places. it's about time.

it's all in the details

yes, another greenbrier post. obviously, i am quite smitten.

each day we received an itinerary. complete with a weather forecast and fact of the day.

it outlined the day's offerings. some of the highlights...

swimming, bowling, culinary demonstrations, horseback riding, carriage rides, exercise classes, golf, off-road driving, gun club, tennis, and fly fishing.

shopping and a spa.

coffee in the morning, hot chocolate at night.

my favorite part - tea and concert in the upper lobby promptly at 4:15pm. hot or iced tea with some of the most beautiful little cakes i have ever seen. i would have taken a picture, but i did not want to look like a total nerd.

and - whilst you are eating dinner, someone goes into your room, lays out your pajamas along with a greenbrier robe, turns down your bed complete with a chocolate on your pillow, and places a nightlight in your bathroom.

it's all in the details, people.

just my mother and me

we went to the greenbrier, just my mother and me.

the bellman took our luggage to our room. she gave him a tip.

we ate lunch together. i tried a fried green tomato sandwich. it was perfect.

my mother had some meetings, so i explored. i found lots of great places to read a book.

at 4:15pm we met for tea. i felt so grown-up.

then we dressed up for dinner. the waiter put our napkins on our laps. that was cool.

after dinner we had hot chocolate. then it was time to sleep.

we had breakfast together. my mother had eggs benedict. i had eggs and bacon. the waiter brought us finger bowls and little towels. that was really cool.

then my mother had some more meetings, so i took a tour of a secret bunker. i can't believe i had walked past the entrance many times before.

in the afternoon i took a walk. then i read some more and just relaxed.

lunch and dinner. and more tea. and more hot chocolate. and shopping.

there was a movie each night in the theater, but i just wanted to sit on the comfy couches.

another peaceful night's sleep.

then it was time to leave. i didn't want to go.

we had a good time at the greenbrier, just my mother and me.

knitting

i haven't posted in a while because i've been knitting.

i haven't cleaned my house in a while because i've been knitting.

i haven't cooked, read a book, or exercised.

you got it - knitting.



finally - elijah is finished. the directions say he knits up fast.

i'm not so sure about that.

i didn't want to let him go. but he will be living across the street with carla's new baby. (due soon!)

if i can knit this, i can knit anything. really.

now if i just had the time.

dust mite be time to spring clean

this is the "entertainment" shelf in the play room. it is empty because kid #3 spends endless minutes destroying, i mean, learning, how to take dvds out of cases.

so of course, i captured this digitally. (to have a permanent record, duh) and yes, that's his name, shhh, don't tell anyone. i am rather proud, he obviously has perfect penmanship. i am especially in awe of the circle over the "i"... highly creative.

oh, and by the way, i get the hint.
it dust mite be time to spring clean.

dinosaurs

true confession... we live in pittsburgh and we haven't been to see the new dinosaur exhibit.

that is, until last weekend.

finally the grown-up to kid ratio was in our favor. the grandparents visited. after convincing my parents to help me with the 100+ cases of girl scout cookies, we needed to get out of the house for an adventure. the dinosaurs have been on our list for a while. mm and i went before kids, but now the whole exhibit has been updated. so we all loaded into the explorer and headed to oakland.

http://www.carnegiemnh.org/dinosaurs/index.htm

the exhibit looks great. the kids all stayed close (!) and there was even an area where they could dig for fossils. in fact, a lot of the museum is updated.

we even had enough patience left to go to red lobster for dinner...

it was a fine day.

p.s. g took a lot of pictures with papa's camera. i thought this one turned out well.

grape pomegranate

snapple antioxidant water.
grape pomegranate.
this is tasty.

but i don't see pomegranate on the ingredient list.

???

*update* - no starfruit in the orange starfruit...

something i didn't even know i needed

this is not space bags. or shoes under. or aqua globes, mighty putty, twin draft guard, or the snuggie... ah, i'd still like a snuggie...

no - this is the BEST invention ever. forget the crayola watercolors.

truly something i didn't even know i needed. i might buy two.

http://www.driinn.com/

kitty buddy

we are nursing a sick kitty.
he is thirteen.
he is 15.5 pounds of bubba.
he has cancer.
the vet cannot do surgery.

so we are giving him whatever he wants.

and he is enjoying it.

almost thirteen years ago we rescued him from a shelter here in pittsburgh. we named him molson. to compliment zima, of course! *side note* - now that we have kids, they write endless stories about them at school. awesome.

he was a lanky and cuddly kitten. he is still a cuddler, but now a fluffy, giant cat. what a sweetheart.

i always knew that my pets would get older. i just didn't realize that i would be the "grown-up" taking care of the older pets. making the "grown-up" pet decisions. it is no fun. i think i liked it better when i just came home from school one day and everything was taken care of.

poor kitty buddy.