House of Estrogen

Emerald Isle 2011: And Then It Turned Cold

September can be a great time to go to the beach with off-season prices, an ocean still warm from the summer months, and low crowds. However, September also leaves you at the mercy of hurricanes and approaching fall weather. The last two days of our trip turned cold, so we donned our hastily purchased Emerald Isle sweatshirts and made the best of it.

We played putt-putt one day.

 

I don't think I ever played putt-putt as a kid. I can remember going on putt-putt dates in high school. (yes, I was that cool. I didn't drink. I wasn't a cheerleader. I wasn't invited to the parties when kids' parents were out of town. I played putt-putt and thew jelly beans out of car windows, aiming at stop signs. Whoa... I know... that's the stuff of serious teenage rebellion.)

 

As a child though, I have no recollection of putt-putt... poor deprived child that I was. I always had my fill of museums, art galleries, and the symphony, but no putt-putt. I guess my parents were going for the whole "cultured" thing. Look where that got them. I blog, play putt putt, eat Frito pie, and listen to Justin Bieber... I am the epitome of culture.

 

My kids... they will have memories of cloudy days at the beach playing putt-putt with friends, so they will grow up to be opera lovers. They can follow in my dad's footsteps and join the Wagner Society, traveling the world going to Wagner's operas (seriously... he did that. He was even president for a while). All this putt-putt is setting them up for a fabulously cultured future.

 

The next day, we went to the aquarium...

 

where we watched fish (duh)...

 

and Nina spent hours with the volunteer at the shell identification table. The girls missed two days of school for this trip, and I'm now thinking I should have gotten approval for it to be an excused absence for an educational opportunity. Nina now knows everything there is to know about shells. She used her allowance to buy a big shell identification book in the gift shop to add to her collection of rock and mineral identification books. She is my mini-me. I was a total rock and shell hound as a kid as well. Is rock collecting hereditary?

 

After the aquarium, we headed off to our usual lunch spot - Sanitary Fish Market. Yum!

 

This little guy is such a charmer!

 

Despite the decidedly unbeachy weather, we all enjoyed the end of our trip.

 

Emerald Isle 2011: Fun in the Sun

Despite lice, croup, asthma, hurricanes, swarms of locusts, blizzards, and the plague, we managed to make the most of our vacation and have a lot of fun in the sun.

For your enjoyment (or complete annoyance)... a little vacation alliteration....

 We hopped high,

 

to ride on a raft,

 

slept in the sun,

 

got pitched above the pool,

 

colored creations with chalk,

 

donned dolphins, 

 

got pushed in the pool, 

 

giggled in our goggles,

 

snacked by the surf,

 

rowed on rafts,

 

 

beamed at the baby

 

stood on shoulders,

 

played pranks in the pool,

 

gave huge, happy hugs,

 

tiptoed in the tide,

 

searched for sand crabs,

 

laughed out loud,

 

and jumped for joy!

 

It was a terrific trip, indeed.

Emerald Isle 2011: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

To say this beach trip had its ups and downs would be putting it mildly. It was more like the Murphy's Law of beach trips. Overall, we had a great time. We truly did. We tried not to let the bad and ugly bring us down, but there were times that felt like a full time job!

First for the GOOD...

The beach house was lovely. The girls loved the pool and hot tub.

 
 

 

We had beautiful weather the first four days.

 

Hurricane Irene left us with some fantastic shelling opportunities.

 

We were vacationing with great friends.

 

The girls all got along marvelously,

 

 

and I had a sweet baby to snuggle with all week!

 

Now on to the BAD...

The waves were INSANE... HUGE... STRONG... CRAZY, in part thanks to Hurricane Irene causing some beach erosion and in part thanks to Tropical Storm Maria churning out at sea. Elise really didn't feel well enough to play out in the ocean, but Nina was dying to boogie board. That didn't go so well.

 

 

 

 Our plans to dine outside on the deck at Channel Marker for Elise's birthday were foiled by Hurricane Irene as well. It is tough to eat outside when the deck has been ripped off by a hurricane. Bummer. She had a great party regardless, just not exactly as planned.

 

Poor J.C. reinjured his wrist with this slick move on (or, uh... off) the skim board. I just happened to be in the right spot with my camera at the right time (Shhh... don't tell him that I was anticipating a fall and was set up waiting for it!).

 

This porch swing at the house was a lot of fun until the chain broke and it came crashing down while our friend M and Addie were on it. Nobody was hurt, but it just added to the Comedy of Errors theme for the week.

 

Combing through Nina's hair and doing lice treatments didn't fall into the category of a "relaxing vacation activity", so that definitely added to the bad. On the upside, I think we've conquered the lice (knock on wood).

J.C. spent our first day of vacation driving three hours back home to pick up a box we had forgotten, turning around, and driving right back. He said he didn't mind, but that didn't really qualify as quality vacation time either.

Now we get to the UGLY.

Poor Elise was suffering through the worst asthma flare in years just before we left and for the first couple days of the trip. She was getting migraines from lack of oxygen, and just generally wasn't doing well. After several days of steroids and round-the-clock nebulizer treatments, she snapped out of it, but she spent a couple days looking like this.

 

Addie developed croup our first night there. I took her to the little beach urgent care the next day. The beach doc prescribed steroids (which I knew she needed) and another med that didn't make much sense to me. I decided not to give it to her and later asked a physician friend about it who said, "You DEFINITELY made the right call NOT giving it to her. That causes shallow breathing, and I NEVER prescribe it for kids." Nice. Gotta love crappy beach docs. She sounded awful but stayed in good spirits.

 

I'll be posting more pictures in the next few days with more of the fun and less of the whining. I just couldn't describe this trip without including the bad and the ugly. I'm not sure we've ever had a vacation with quite so much of it! Despite the apparent curse, we all managed to enjoy the trip!

  

 

Survival Swim

J.C. was out of town for the last five days. Single parenting always challenges my energy, patience, and spirit.  My plan for survival this weekend was simple: swimming.

 

We swam Friday.

 

We swam Saturday.

 

We swam Sunday.

 

Basically, we spent as much time as humanly possible swimming. There were several reasons for this strategy.

 

1. My children don't fight at the pool. I haven't figured out the secret of the sun and water, but there is clearly magic there. They all get along. While at the pool, I can enjoy my time with my children rather than playing referee all day.

 

2. They can't destroy the house when they aren't in it.

 

3. There are no dishes to wash or meals to prepare when all meals consist of pizza or subs delivered poolside.

 

So, pool time we had. We planned pool playdates with friends - girl friends,...

 

guy friends,...

 

and little teeny,

 

tiny friends.

 

Overall, the weekend was a success.

 

We had a few scraped toes and sunburned shoulders,

 

but that didn't put any damper on the fun,

 

 

and most importantly, this temporarily-single mom maintained her sanity!

Photo Post Mashup

Things have been a bit busy and stressful lately, and my blog has suffered. My parents are mostly moved in though, my dad is finally out of the hospital, and while he is definitely weaker, he seems to be getting around OK, so it is time to lighten things up around here. This post is a mashup of all the photo posts that have gone unpublished in the last couple of weeks... a little bit of everything from House Of Estrogen life. I promise no hospital or moving truck photos though... just the fun stuff.

First, a little family bike ride on a rail trail. J.C. got a flat tire soon after we started, so this ride ended up being just the girls.

 

It was great family time on a pretty spring day.

 

 

We were all pretty wiped out when we got home.

 

Next up... hanging out with our cutie-patootie friend S at the company picnic,

 

and a ride on the carrousel there.

 

Next, Nina's Girl Scout troop went mining for gems which is like Nina's idea of heaven. The girl loves rocks and gems... little budding geologist.

 

 

 

Last, Elise and Nina had Field Day this week on a blistering hot day, but it sounds like they had a great time. A friend sent me this picture of Nina and two of her good buddies.

 

See... we aren't all doom and gloom around here. I think we're finally coming up for air after a rough couple of weeks. Again, I really appreciate all the emails, comments, prayers, meals, phone calls, and thoughts through all the crappola we've been through lately. Thank you. It means the world to me.

Halloween: a Look Back, and Trick or Treat

When I was in elementary school, our school held a pumpkin contest every year.  It was a fun tradition which the school still does today. I faithfully entered every year.

Gotta love this picture of me with my eyes closed. Fortunately, digital cameras have pretty much eliminated these sorts of pictures.

 

I was stylin' here with my "I'm a Pepper" t-shirt and docksiders.

 

I guess the whole "person pumpkin" thing was working for me... I won a blue ribbon with this one too.

 

Nice... gauchos, white knee socks, and penny loafers... Was I a child of the 70's or what?

 

Thanks for going with me on my little walk back through nostalgia. Do the girls look like me in any of those pictures?  My poor girlies didn't even carve pumpkins this year, let alone decorate them for a contest. They had a great time Trick-or-Treating though.

 

Elise went trick-or-treating with one of her friends, and I took Nina, Addie, and one of Nina's friends.

 

Some of our neighbors were serving "BBQ sundaes" to trick-or-treating parents - pulled pork, coleslaw, and baked beans in a cup.  You probably have to be an NC native to get the whole slaw thing.  I've been here for 20 years, and I still can't eat slaw on my BBQ. The BBQ sundaes were a big hit though. Some other neighbors put together a big haunted house and a fun house. This is a picture of Nina in the fun house.

  


The girls brought in a motherload of candy, so we decided to try something new this year. We told the girls they could eat candy that night, pick out 10 pieces to eat the rest of the week, and then if they left the rest of their candy out, the Halloween Witch would take it away and leave a couple new books.

 

Addie wasn't sure what to think of the Halloween Witch.

J.C. - "OK, now that you've picked out your candy to save, leave the rest here. The Halloween Witch will take this candy and leave books for you."

Addie - "Halloween Witch take my candy?"

J.C. - "Yes, and she will leave new books for you."

Addie - "Halloween Witch take my shoes?"

J.C. - "No, she won't take your shoes... just the candy."

Addie - "Halloween Witch take my toys?"

J.C. - "No. She won't take your toys. Everything in the house will be here except for this pile of candy. When you wake up in the morning, there will be books here."

Addie - "Halloween witch bring me books?"

J.C. - "Yes"

Addie - "I love Halloween Witch."

The next morning the first words out of her mouth were, "I got new books!" and she proceeded to tell me all about how the Easter Bunny had brought her books.

 

Do you think the Halloween Witch will bring the Easter Eggs this spring?
 

Neighborhood Little Sister

Last weekend, while Elise and Nina were both away at camp and grandparents', respectively, the doorbell rang. I answered the door to find two of Nina's buddies - first graders who live in the neighborhood. I told them that Elise and Nina were out, but they were actually looking for Addie. They asked if Addie wanted her face painted. Addie nodded, so the girls got to work.

 
Neither of these girls have younger siblings, so I guess they had decided Addie would be a willing participant for their face painting agenda.

 

Addie is accustomed to being Nina's play thing, so this was just like a typical day for her.

 
Face painting turned into hand painting, and Addie seemed to be enjoying the attention.

 
She's the neighborhood little sister. :)

 

 

 

NASCAR... House of Estrogen Style

Ladies... Start your engines!

And they're off!

 
Laughing...

 
Racing...

 
Including the baby.

 

There's definitely an element of chaos here, but it is also pretty darn cool - creative fun with neighbors on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

 

 

One Last Beach Post

Our beach trip was almost three weeks ago, and I'm finally getting around to my last picture post. Going through these pictures makes me wish we could head back to the beach tomorrow. It was such a great trip, and we couldn't ask for better travel companions than the B family!

When we weren't digging, we were... 

skim boarding,

hanging out in the water,

giving kisses,
 
 

boogie boarding,

 

 

running,

 

posing,

 

pulling friends on the boogie boards,

 

(that's our little friend L who came to play with us one day)

lying in the sand,

 

playing football

 

and simply smiling... with a love for the beach.

   

Sunset Beach Faces

Just sharing a few faces from our beach trip with the B family!

Happy Faces...

Mad Faces...

Laughing Faces...

Tongue Hanging Out Faces...

Silly Faces...

Loving, Smiling Faces...

And Sweet Sleeping Faces.