Memorial Day

We had a FANTASTIC Memorial Day, spent with friends at Jones Beach. We think we might be turning into beach people, because we just loving the time that we spend there! We've got a sand/beach umbrella now, lots of sand toys, kites...It's wonderful and so convenient! We didn't hit much traffic at all, listened to the RIO soundtrack all the way up and back and it was fun to talk with the mama's, while our kids played.

So thankful for our safety, freedom and all of the men and woman who fight for it everyday.
God Bless America!

Shout Out!

I just have to give a BIG shout out to our girls. They have been such great, obedient girls the past couple of weeks and we're just so proud of them.

They're startin' to get the hang of some small, yet very helpful things like putting their shoes away immediately after we get home, or picking up when asked, or making all of our beds! I admit that it is wonderful to have helping hands around here. Everyone is happier and there's more time and energy to do the fun things we want to do!

We had some fun visitors last week! More on that to come. One of our stops while showing them around was in Brooklyn, to Grimaldi's, Ice Cream and the Brooklyn Bridge park. Ella had to have walked over 75 blocks that day. And she didn't complain once. (There were plenty of treats along the way, which I'm sure helped. ;) Pais did pretty good too, she was on her daddy's shoulders a lot of the time. :)

The next day, as I was walking up the stairwell at the girls school, their dance teacher and I passed each other. (They have dance class every week, as one of their "specials." ) She turned around and said, "You have got such good girls! They behave so well and I really enjoy having them in my class...their hair is always so sweet and they're always dressed so nice...." She went on and on, one of the nicest little conversations, ever! I didn't know she even knew who I was, so I was quite surprised, and pleased! :) It's just so nice to hear it sometimes! I don't think mama's are given enough praise for what they do....and I don't think they really get to see how their children choose to live or behave when a parent is not around, so it's just so great when someone tells you something like that!

So Ella and Pais, a shout out to you for the sweethearts that you are....even if sometimes it's just because several of your teacher's like to smell your hair! ;)

Paisley's Kindergarten Field Day.

Well we're wrapping up the school year! There is so much going on. Here is the first, of the end of school year events.

Paisley's school started a field day this year...although their field is more like a concrete stage/water play area/playground. The Kindergartners and their 3rd grade reading buddies had a great time together. It was a perfect idea. Ella's 1st grade and fellow 4th grade buddies, had theirs the next week.

Paisley wasn't feeling very good this day. :( It was cute to see the older girls treat her like the cute lil peanut she is.

She had fun anyway!

Non-related Story-
Paisley woke up the other morning and said- "Why isn't my hair as long as Rapunzel's yet? I've been waiting. I want to tie all my boyfriends up in my hair."

Me shaking my head...I was just like her, loved the boys real young- "Well, your hair is pretty long now, almost as long as Rapunzel's...."

Paisley- "No it's not! Is my hair the longest in The City? NO! I want the longest hair in The City!

She's got all of New York's nicknames down and uses them. :) And, a little sass comes out every now and then.

Kindergarten has been a fun experience this year for Paisley. She is SO social. Her teacher told me a few weeks ago that all kids can relate to her no matter who she is with. The boys love her b/c she's cute and little and friendly, yet she gets dirty and plays with worms and can handle a little rough housing. And she's got her girlfriends as well that she can be girly with...but honestly, her besties are boys. :0

It is fun in a different way than it was with Ella last year. Both our girls are so different in some ways, but we have thoroughly loved having a kindergartner the last 2 years. I'm gonna miss this age. We got the most out of it. That is for sure.

Paisley has just thrived this year. She's reading, writing, counting change and some more than, less than! She's excited to be a first grader. Scotty and the girls have been reading The Little's book series this second half of the school year and she has enjoyed them all tremendously! Can't wait for her kindergarten Graduation on Wednesday!

Having an iphone is causing problems in my blogging world. Half of my pictures are on my camera, while the other half are on my iphone. Not convenient when needing to use some pics from each. :)

Sheeps Meadow. Memorial Weekend Part 2.

We met Scott's friend Pat and others for some picnicking, helicopter flying and kite running...oh yes...and some foraging in Central Park. Our group was certain that if our children were left in the wilderness, they would know how to survive alone. (That sounds sad.) But they gathered all kinds of huge branches, bushes and such and made a little fort.

The below picture is before it got out of hand. LOL.

Memorial Day Part 1

We hit up Bradley Beach, on the Jersey Shore to start off our holiday!

The girls made sand castles, Scotty was the water fetcher and I just sipped on the yummy coconut drink that Paisley served up for me. (it was a sand coconut ;)

There were also mermaid sand tails made, miniature golf, an art fair on the boardwalk and a yummy dinner at a local Italian Restaurant.

Being together is our favorite thing to be.

The perfect first beach day and many more to come this summer!

Paisley's first (and only) ear piercing experience!

So...after Paisley being there to watch Ella's special ear piercing extravaganza, I was pretty sure She was scared to death, and would never get her ears pierced.

Well, it's been about 9 months now and out of the blue one afternoon she said she was ready to get her ears pierced. So we waited a couple days to make sure our number one daddy would be able to be there.

She was our little "Paiz-Anne-Mazing! (her nickname as a baby because she was so easy and pleasant and smiley and smart)



When both of the girls got their ears pierced we told them, " There's only one time that you get our ears pierced, so this is a very special day! Isn't that exciting? Ella had no comment or questions....she agreed. She took it all in.

But Paisley was all....

"That didn't even hurt, I wanna do it again! ...but mommy, you have a lot of holes in your ears!" Oy vey! lol!

(BTW-Ella LOVES her ears pierced. She has been so responsible and thankfully we have somewhat the same taste in earrings. ;)



Before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5GC98z8hoM

After pictures to come!!
(they're all on my iphone!)

2 Things and 2 Pictures.

1. My willingness to recycle, revolves directly around how happy I am with my husband at the moment. I just made that correlation not too long ago and it is completely silly, but sadly true. You see, Scotty is big on recycling. He's all about having two bags, sitting on our already tiny kitchen floor, designated for papers and plastic. "It's for our children's, children!" And how can I argue with that? It's kind of annoying and tedious though! Sorting all of our trash, every single day, having to rinse everything out....it just kind of makes a bigger mess. On a happy day, I'm more than happy to do it....but catch me on a day when Scotty is being naughty, :) and that recycling just gets thrown in the trash, as I get an evil little smirk on my face ... It my way of rebelling. Mwahahahaha!
(PS- You all must know that Scotty is hardly naughty. Like ever. :)


2. Since moving into our new apartment building, it has been absolutely wonderful having a washer and dryer literally 8 feet away from our front door. I had a new motivation to do laundry again and have been doing it more often than before... But, I have been surprisingly disappointed about it...
a. My children want to wear the same outfit every other day. Not good.

b. We don't have enough closet or drawer space to hold all of our clean clothes.

So I'm going back to my old habits, it just isn't working out.

Giving loves at a ward picnic in Morningside Park. Ella playing Bocce with friends.

The Plah-Za Dah-Ling.

If you have not taken your daughter's to the Plaza Hotel, for some FUN and FREE, go tomorrow! That's what we did!!

I snuck behind the curtain while Ella was tying Paisley's dress.

Both of Ella's and Paisley's Grandma's enjoy Eloise, so they both introduced Her to Them as young toddlers. I had no idea this was even there, until the day before we went!

There was a Koi pond right by the little cafe.

And then of course we had to stop and get some macarons!
They were delish. Paisley loved the pistachio one.

We'll be making at least quarterly visits! Please join us next time!

au revoir!

This is how Mariella believes one should experience....

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Just take. It all. In.

Ella's class took a trip to the Butterfly Conservatory at the American Museum of Natural History...so Scotty and I took her to the MET instead! (She's not about moths and butterflies fluttering around her too close! She had taken a class at AMNH a few months before, with the butterflies, so she'd been there, done that. ;)

We met up with her class after and had a picnic in Central park.

I spy with my little eye....

... a window washer!

...Ella's contribution to the Five Guys board.

There weren't any slips of paper left, so we opted for the 100% recycled peanut trays to do our coloring....and this is what she came up with...

That's my little earth friendly, green girl!

So we finally tried 5 Guys Burgers! And it was really good! And really expensive!
But they give peanuts, so it's all good.

Tribeca Film Festival

We made it to the end of the festival, just in time to walk the red carpet and get tickets for the last children's screening. After, we got Italian ices, watched street performers and played a little golf! Ahhh...we love Saturdays!