And So the Story(land) Goes...

If the end of August landed the Mothers Goose in uncharted waters (more on that later), the beginning of the month found us in familiar territory. Far north up the Granite State lies a land that caters to the whims and fantasies of the 48" and under set. It is a land of ill-mannered kids loosely parented by obese adults in tank tops. Yes it is Storyland, where the Mothers Goose and our trusted travel companions the Troutmans go to feel good about their aging appearances and parenting skills. Seriously, in that environment we are all glamorous rock stars with Super Nanny-esque talents. I AM SO JUDGEY! Somehow I managed not to dislocate my arm casting aspersions and had fun anyway... see? All kidding aside, our children really do love spending the weekend with friends and running themselves ragged. Luckily, we make them do all the work... we just tag along to document the fun. Once the last drop of mirth was squeezed out of Storyland, we trucked on over the famed Kangamangas Highway (which our girls deemed at turns "sooo beautiful" and "booorrrring") to one of New England's most storied tourist traps: Clark's Trading Post. We saw trained bears do tricks, got vertigo in a crooked house and stood outside in the rain... and still, we had fun. Oh, speaking of bears... did I mention we saw a real life wild bear during our apres-Storyland cocktails from our porch? Yep, it's true. I'd ask Kelby to share his picture with you, but turns out you can't take a picture of a black bear in the dark.

Vacation July 2013: Camp Itchy Scratchy

This year we had everything going for us. Some fun pre-camp activities around Boston to take in the sights and a birthday to celebrate upon arrival at camp. We had a spacious six bedroom house on Big Sebago during an unprecedented Maine heatwave... what more could we ask for, right??! Well, for starters the absence of schistosomatidae would be one small request. What is schistosomatidae you ask? Allow me to provide you with the answer. In a word, and pardon my French, it sucked. Of course, just the 7 kiddos were affected... on the first day of camp. Yeah. That Sunday first afternoon, when one started to complain "mama I feel itchy" and then several others chimed in and then shortly thereafter all flippin hell broke loose with agonizing screaming and crying we knew we had a serious issue on our hands. Good thing we were located within a 5 minute drive to the store because several bottles of Aveeno anti-itch lotion and some Benedryl pills later, all was right-ish with the world. Ever ones to make lemonade out of lemons though, we did have a fantastic week. We rented a water trampoline (to encourage deep water activity, apparently the little parasite likes shallow water best) and some lawn-sport activities as well. Desperate times call for desperate measures people and that meant witnessing Mr. Cuba on more than one occasion... there are some things that cannot be unseen, I am truly sorry. As always, Uncle B spoiled us with an array of tasty treats and the children were spoiled by 24/7 cousin silliness and nightly movie screenings. Speaking of movies, if you're ever curious what goes on in the mind of my 4 year old daughter, she was kind enough to take this home video to show you her take on camp.  So another year of camp in the books, and it certainly was a memorable one... but hey, if you're going to spend a week itching, scratching and looking like a leper, may as well do it with family, right?!?

Happy Birthday America...

And Uncle Tony too, of course. July 4th always brings about much celebration... this year we decided to up the ante by attending a Sea Dogs game ON the 4th which gave our kiddos their first taste of fireworks. They were a bit loud (Luce covered her ears) but Carmen kept telling her, "It's not that loud Lucia!" and she also kept telling the fireworks how lovely they were by shouting, "YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!" repeatedly. It was adorable. The weather gave us lots of opportunities for fun in the sun and as always tasty food abounded. Speaking of fun in the sun and tasty food, I have to go pack for CAMP!

Hey I Made It, I'm the World's Greatest...

Right. So here we are. One school year down and our girls made it through in one piece, their unique personalities firmly intact. June was a very busy month for these gifted performers. Luce had another star turn in her drama/art class production of Fandango Stew and Carmen was blinded by the glare of the stage lights and was a bit "sheepish" in her Driving my Tractor role. She was much more animated at the reunion of her American Girl doll (thanks again for sending Nonne!). This month also brought an Ellen's House sleepover for BOTH girls. Luce took along the iTouch to capture important memories... like this and this. Lucia also honored a special man in her life for Father's Day with this homemade card to Papa Stu. All in all, June was pretty great for the Mothers Goose clan. You know, except when I OPENLY WEPT during Luce's class performance of this R. Kelly song (I_know). I have the full version, but couldn't make it through the entire post without waterworks.

Next up, Fourth of July and CAMPAPALOOZA 2013... stay tuned!

Come what, May?!

Right, so after April came May and May, quite frankly, was a big flippin' blur. BUT I did manage to snap a few pics of our Mega Mother's Day festivities. After Mer's "Trial of the Century" wrapped up at the end of April, she high-tailed it to Chicago for some R&RT (rest and retail therapy) with her sister, which was exactly what she needed. However, she forgot that weekend fell on Mother's Day... which was too bad for her because she missed out on a rollicking good time. Auntie Mia swooped in for some make-over magic and Mimi and Nonne came down for some Mother's Day dinner and brunch goodness. Laughs were had, hair was did, and food was eaten. Pretty perfect.

And what May would be complete without a Memorial Day Trip to Pland to celebrate Papa's birthday? Oh, and Lucia dressed like a biker chick and read a book to Aunt Ashlee's hand.

Fin.

So Long April, Good Riddance...

April was not the easiest month for the Mothers Goose (and the human race in general). Mama Mer was busy preparing for trial, working 7 days a week and spending entirely too much time in central Pennsylvania... and I was, well, trying to keep my sh*t together. Then the week of the Boston Marathon happened and we were all rattled to say the least. Luckily, it was school vacation week and the kids and I were up in Maine on Marathon Monday far away from the chaos unfolding in Boston. We had plenty of fun distractions in the form of cousins, rodents, and of course great food. Then we returned mid-week and were forced to "shelter in place" on a 74 degree Friday. Oy. The next day, Luce got busy helping out where she could though not fully understanding what took place, just that "a bad man did a bad thing and hurt some people." She set up a "mini farmer's market" with entertainment, snacks and a donation basket. I swear I had nothing to do with any of this. I'm just here to document the awesomeness.

Yeahhhhhh Easter!

Yes it happened, like, a month ago... but still. I have evidence that the event took place, and my children seemed to enjoy it. Speaking of pictures, I have no idea why the Google powers that be felt the need to mess up our perfectly nice Picasa web album/blog interface but they did, big time. So if you can't view the pictures anymore I think there's a "request" button you can push or something and then I magically grant you access. All 4 of you that read this blog have at one point in time expressed interest in either myself or my family so chances are, you'll be allowed behind the curtain... just ask me :-)

Speaking of magic, get a load of the inner workings of my 6 year old's brain when asked to occupy herself for a period of time. This is what she comes up with (my room may never be the same). In keeping with her creative streak, she was recently cast in the kindergarten production of Carnival of the Animals as a cuckoo bird... the directors swore there was no typecasting involved. With five, yes FIVE kindergartens at the school, this production rivaled that of Broadway's The Lion King with perhaps a little more screeching involved. Perhaps. Oh and the second child was around too and did stuff and generally looked cute. I'll get her at the next update...