House of Estrogen

REJUVENATED!

I apologize to my blog readers for the sad, neglected state of my blog this week. I was feeling rundown, under the weather, overwhelmed and just a bit overrun by life. I'M BACK NOW.  After a weekend at the beach with five other mommy friends (we are mothers to a collective 16!), my spirit has been renewed. I spent ALL DAY Saturday bobbing in the ocean water, lazing around the lazy river, or lying in a beach chair reading a book. I had no children to save from drowning, nobody begging me for snacks, and nobody to reprimand about throwing sand. It was just me, the waves, and a book. As much as I love going to the beach with my kids, it isn't nearly so relaxing as being there with friends.  I did feel a huge scoop of mommy guilt on my shoulders when I heard from J.C. that Elise spent the entire day Saturday vomiting or sleeping on the floor curled around the toilet. How could they possibly survive without Mom there? Guess what? They lived. Elise was feeling better by that evening and by Sunday she was bouncing around like she had never been sick. J.C. was totally up to the task. While I did feel guilt at the time for being away, I have to selfishly admit that it was so very nice to be lying on the beach reading all day missing out on the vomitfest at home. Kudos go out to J.C. for not begging me to come home early!  I took very few pictures over the weekend, but here is one from dinner Saturday night. This was our one meal where we didn't have comically bad service. I think our husbands put some sort of "worst waitress in the restaurant" curse on us before we left. The tray full of glasses of soda spilled all over us at the restaurant on the drive home was like icing on the cake of a weekend of bad service. Even a lap and purse full of sticky soda couldn't bring us down though. The weekend reinvigorated all of us to come home, hug our children, be more patient and kind with them, tackle the all the school issues we discussed over the weekend, and just jump headfirst back into mothering with a recharged soul. It was just what I needed.

Emerald Isle Trip 2009 - Last Picture Post (I Promise!)

If we go out for lunch, Addison often falls asleep in the car on the way home. Based on this, we made plans to go out to lunch and then hop on the road to the beach. "That will work out perfectly! She'll sleep most of the drive." we said with a cocky high-five, congratulating ourselves on our brilliance.

Uh yeah... best laid plans...

Here she is for 99.763% of the drive.

 

And here she is on the two and a half minute drive from the realty office to the beach house. Awesome.

We had a fun afternoon playing Putt-Putt one day. Addie was a good sport and just cruised along in the stroller while we played.

Lunch at my favorite beach restaurant, Sanitary Fish Market!

 

 

A visit to the pier

A scoop at Ben and Jerry's

 

And dinner one night in Swansboro

 

Last (and really, I promise this is the end... back to regular non-vacation blogging tomorrow!), a nice quiet drive home

Nina Drive, Part 6

2004

2005

2006

 

2007

 

2008

2009 (Missing the dress this year - Oops! But look how she's grown!)

Emerald Isle Trip 2009 - Carolina Girl

We've been going to Emerald Isle at least once a year since 2004, and every year, we've stayed in a different beach house. They have all been great. We've never had a dud, but we've also never been to one that called out to us to come stay in it again. This year was different. We stayed in a house named Carolina Girl, and we will definitely be putting our feet up there again in the future! Most of the houses on Emerald Isle with private pools are giant 6-8 bedroom homes complete with elevators, home theaters, and gourmet kitchens which are fantastic when you're vacationing with extended family, but way outside the budget of our little family of five. We were so excited to find Carolina Girl... a three bedroom cottage just across the street from the beach with a hammock and pool! It was perfect!

 

Breakfast our first morning there...

  

Fun in the pool...

 

 

 

 

    

  

 

And relaxing in the hammock...

 

We hope to visit you again soon, Carolina Girl!

Emerald Isle Trip 2009 - Beach Photopalooza

"The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."

   ~ Jacques Cousteau

 

 

I had a hard time narrowing down my favorites...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

  

 

 

   

How to Eat a Lofthouse Cookie

Step 1: Taste the frosting.

Step 2: Admire the cookie. Check out exactly how much frosting is left for your tasting pleasure.

Step 3: Really sink your teeth into it.

Step 4: As the cookie begins to break apart, just keep shoveling it in.

Step 5: Give a mean look to anyone who might be laughing at you.

Step 6: Don't let any crumb go to waste!

Emerald Isle Trip 2009 - NC Aquarium

We spent one morning at the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. It is a somewhat unique aquarium in that it only houses animals that are native to North Carolina. Any animal you see at the aquarium lives somewhere in the state - from the mountains to the coast. When we've gone to the aquarium in years past, the girls usually flew through it just running from tank to tank. I'm not sure what changed this year, but they were asking questions, listening to the volunteers, and were really enthralled by everything they were learning. It was neat to see that transition. They can probably tell you everything you would ever want to know and then some about crabs now after spending a good 20 or 30 minutes with the volunteer at the crab petting area. Addie loved the aquarium too, so it was a great way to spend a cloudy morning.

 

Family Resemblance?

I keep hearing from friends, "Addison looks so much like Nina did at that age." I found a few pictures from a 2005 trip to the beach, so I thought I'd let you be the judge. Addie is in the light pink. Nina is in the pink checked. (Yes, pink is a popular color around here!). Whatcha think?

 

   

Emerald Isle Trip 2009 - Shackleford Banks

Shackleford Banks is a nine mile long barrier island on the North Carolina coast. It is uninhabited by people but is home to a herd of about 115 wild horses. It is not known exactly how the horses came to inhabit the island, but according to legend, they descended from Spanish mustangs who escaped a shipwreck four hundred years ago. The trip to Shackleford Banks is a fun 15 minute boat ride from Beaufort, NC.

We had a great time on our visit to Shackleford Banks this year, although Addie was NOT a fan of the boat ride. As always, the shells to be found were fantastic, and we had a nice picnic on the beach. We were lucky enough to see a few of the horses this time too. They aren't always easy to find, but as Nina put it, "we followed the poop trail!"

No horses up here!

Found them!

Winding Down, Packing Up

As our beach trip comes to an end and we pack up the car for the drive home, it is with mixed emotion. This vacation has been a jumble of family fun on the beach, in the pool, at the mini-golf course, in great restaurants, at the aquarium, at Ben & Jerry's, on a boat, in the hammock, and in this great beach house coupled with a headstrong Russian-speaking toddler with the mood swings of a hormonal teenager. I've always said that 19-21 months was Elise's most difficult age, so Addie's temperament should not surprise me. Even so, telling myself 237 times per day, "This will get better" is little comfort when she is screeching for me to pass the salsa even though every time she shovels it into her mouth, she howls because it is too spicy. Yesterday, the beach made her mad. Today, she couldn't get enough of it, played in the waves all morning, and had a smile from ear to ear. Consistent much? Leaving the beach is always hard, but getting the toddler back to her regular routine on her home turf sounds very appealing.

Overall, it has been a great trip, but I'll think twice before I travel again with a 19-21 month old. Her opinions and voice volume trump any common sense or language skills... not a good combination. I have high hopes for beach trip 2010 though! 

The big girls have had a great time. The highlights for them were playing in the waves, swimming in the pool, digging for sand crabs, petting crabs at the aquarium, collecting shells, and following the trails of horse poop (Nina's words) to find the wild horses on a nearby barrier island.

As for me, the waves do wonders for my soul. Now if only I could find that Russian translator, I'd be all set.

The picture posts will start appearing tomorrow, and there will be lots. You have been warned. If you don't want to overdose on House of Estrogen beach photos, you may want to stay away from the blog for a few days! For now, here's one of trouble.