Enchanted

What is the most fun thing to do on a gorgeous day in Central Park? Why, find the sights from your favorite movie, of course! We chose Enchanted.


This is the amphitheater where Giselle is singing in a castle with a little girl. Then the camera switches to the audience and McDreamy smiles his McDreamy smile and does Jazz Hands.



Patch, never one to pass up a stage, sang his heart out. Song of choice? Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.




Flower at the Bethesda Fountain, where the dance number expands to hundreds of people.

We are pretty sure those benches where the band sat was where the old people were in the movie. No old people spontaneously dancing that day, just a really cool band called the Tin Pan Band. They played old timey music.

Giselle and McDreamy went on a canoe ride. Grandpa was the canoer this day. Everyone (expect pregnant Mommy who does not care for boats while in this delicate condition) got a ride.

This is the bow bridge. They dance across it while singing.
There we are!

Patch took some time out to do a hula dance. He was a natural.

And then our camera died. It was very sad. I forgot the battery charger. I remembered just about everything else, but forgot the battery charger. Of course, this being New York City, there was nowhere to find a replacement. (This is slightly untrue. There just wasn't time to hunt down the right charger. I am sure NYC has one or two electronic stores.) We used Grandma's and Grandpa's camera for the rest of our trip, but we don't have those photos yet.

R&R

We are back from our weekend jaunt to NYC. It was a quick 3-day getaway with the whole family. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for letting us crash in your Harlem pad! Now to recover from all the fun...

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneaky peak at some of what I've been working on this week. I had a UFO week, trying to clear out old projects to make room for the new ones. It sure was fun!

Overheard

Mini-me to Patch, as he tried to play with one of her toys: "No you can't play with that! You can't speak girl!"

Patch to me, as I was trying to eat his arm: "No, Mommy! Don't eat me. I'm not food anymore!"

The Great Frederick Fair 2009

This past weekend we went to one of my favorite Frederick happenings: The Fair.

We went on a few rides. This one went a little faster than we thought it would. Luckily Patch loved it instead of crying through the whole thing.

We stuck our heads through holes. It's a favorite activity at the fair.

We went to a horse pull. Teams of two horses pulled massive amounts of weight. It moved a little slowly, but it was awesome.

We wondered what it would be like to own a tractor. This one reminded us of Frank from the movie Cars. Frank is red, so we knew this wasn't the real thing. It was maybe his cousin.

A great time, and a funnel cake, was had by all.

Yellow Peril

In case you haven't heard, my parents sold their lovely home and moved into an apartment. Read my sister's stirring tribute here.

Great Escape

TodaysMama is having a contest to win a Cricut machine. Can I tell you how badly I want one of those? Man, so bad! So, I'm entering and hoping to win. Did I mention I want a Cricut?

1. If you could escape to anywhere in the world where would it be?

Sun Valley, ID. It's the happiest place on Earth.
2. What song do you play when you are by yourself in the car?

I love to listen to Black Eyed Peas songs and I rock it out.
3. If you had a night to yourself, and money was no object, what would you do?

I would go up to NYC and see a Broadway show.
4. What is your guilty pleasure?

Cold Stone -- I love me some All Lovin', No Oven with chocolate cake batter ice cream.
5. What is the farthest place you have traveled away from your home?

I did Study Abroad in London while in high school and college, and got to go to Scotland. That was pretty far away.
6. Last book that you couldn't put down?

Um, please don't judge, but the Twilight series.
7. When you want to escape into another time, what movie do you watch?

Pride and Prejudice -- the BBC version that takes 6 hours.
8. What is your favorite local escape?

Amish country -- it's only about 2 hours away from here.
9. How do you escape on a budget?

Curly goes out to get takeout and we watch tv or a movie at home.
10. Best food you've ever had while on vacation.

I love going out to eat while on vacation to local spots -- not chains. But the best? Not much is better than breakfast at The Kneadery in Sun Valley.

New Bag

Even if I don't re-make some nursery bedding, which, let's be honest, is looking likely since I am now in the third trimester, at least I now have a new diaper bag. It's really the perfect size. It's roomy enough to hold everything you need, but not so big that your bag becomes a dumping ground.

I first saw this fabric in January. I wouldn't let myself buy it until I had a baby in my belly. To be honest, I am not sure why I made myself wait. It's such cute fabric, and with the leftovers, I'll be making some Molly Patch things for my upcoming show.

It took me less than 4 hours to make it. I probably could have done it faster, but Patch was with me for the majority of the time. The little guy likes attention, so I was interrupted more than a few times.


The little tab on the front is to hold things, like the rings for baby toys. I decided to put a D ring on mine, and then I'm going to make a cell phone holder. I am always losing my phone in my bag. I like this feature so much, I may add it to my other bags as well.

A Letter

Dear Target Employees,

You work at my Happy Place. Your store smells so nice, and everything is so inviting, from the dollar spot to the cafe. But sometimes, well, you need a little work. For example, I don't like it when you comment on what I am buying. Let's just talk about today's visit for further illustration. I came to Target with only one thing on my list: chips. I needed a big bag full of little bags to pack in school lunches and knew they were on sale this week. Plus, I had a coupon. While walking past the registers, I discovered you had my favorite fall treat: Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses. And, bonus, they were 2 for $5. I put six in my cart. Upon checking out with 7 junk food items, the cashier remarked on my buying Halloween candy so early. To that, I say, if you don't want me to buy it, don't put it out. But that's not the point of this letter. I told her that they were my favorites and that they don't last long, so I was stocking up. She stopped what she was doing, bag of kisses in hand, looked at me, and in a shocked voice said: "All of these are for YOU?"

Now, Target employees, I am sure in your training you were not taught to judge what one buys. Seriously, I know I'm a bit "thicker 'round the middle," but I am not capable of eating 6 bags of kisses, no matter how delicious, at once. I am not capable of eating even one bag in one sitting. So please, keep your comments to yourself.

Sincerely,

Mrs. O'Kigin

Nursery Woes

When I mentioned wanting to do purple in the baby's room, I didn't anticipate it being a hard color to find. Purple and grey are very in right now. I figured there would be tons of fabric available. I was wrong. Also, I was wrong about Curly being on board with the colors. Last night as I was showing him the options, he asked: "Don't we already have nursery bedding?" Yes. Yes, we do. But it's green. I'm not feeling green. I'm feeling purple.

Here is what I have found so far:


I love this. It reminds me of ribbon candy, which is sweet, like my baby. And, it has green in it, which means a lot some of the green that we have can be used. See? I'm trying to be frugal!

I also thought this was very pretty, but on a crib bumper, the flowers might be too big.

This is just a lovely fabric. It is classy and expensive looking. Again, notice the green accents within the fabric. True, it's more of an olive green than the current Pottery Barn Kids green we have, but it's green.

When I showed this one to Curly last night, totally in love with it and ready to click the "buy" button, he said: "Wow. Kinda psychedelic, don't you think?" No. No, I do not think. But, last thing I want to do is make my baby think she's at Studio 54.

The thing I loved most about the above fabric, is that it coordinates with this:

I have loved this fabric for years. I have used it many times, including in my favorite quilt. Again, note the green.

What do you think of these fabrics? Please, weigh in!

Photo Friday

We'll be going back in just a few weeks!

Service

This morning the kids had on jackets. There is a touch of fall in the air. A hint. A nod. A peek. I love it. Normally we head to the YMCA after dropping Mini-me off, but today I am beat. Last night I was in charge of the service project at church. There was a lot of prep work. And so today, I am tired. Curly is home from work today, so when he returns from taking Flower to school, I am going to take a nap.

Last night, while I was busy preparing for service, Curly made dinner. It was delicious. I have never had a better BLT. Mini-me wanted just a BP (bacon and pickle), Flower wanted just B (bacon), and Patch wanted a "Triangle Sammich," which is a PB&J cut into 4 triangles. When I came home, Curly had done the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. He's awsome.

Apple Orchard

Yesterday we took a trip north to Pryor's Orchard. The apples were sweet and delicious.

Last night, I put what was left in the crock pot, and this morning canned 12 little jars of apple butter. I followed the directions found here.

I Dance

Today, Mini-me began taking dance classes again. She asked if she could do tap this year, and the Y offers a combined ballet/tap class for kids her age. She wasn't too thrilled about the ballet part, but I think it's important that if she wants to dance, she be a well rounded dancer. All of this is in preparation for her living out my dream of being an Irish step-dancer. I think Patch would be good at it, too. Curly is not convinced. I know Riverdance is so 1996, but I am sure it will make a comeback by the time she's ready to make a living as an Irish dancer.

Photo Friday

Yummy Dinner

Tonight I made the best rolls. They were cheesy garlic rolls. I got the recipe here. You will not be disappointed.