Home is Where the Wine is

Hi.

We're back from Ithaca, New York. My heart however? Still there.

Remember how it took one week to recover from NYC? I'm afraid I'm going to need grief therapy and rehab to get through missing its vineyard counterpart, upstate NY.

Blissdom 2010 is all I can say. I hope to find more words and more time to spew them here tomorrow. Until then, I give you my favorite photos out of the 388 taken over the course of six days. There's probably a rehab for that too. Only I'd never show.














Meet Cab & Ries, some new friends of mine.















And the kayaking triplets won me over with their quiet confidence and lack of conversational prowess.















It rained a lot. I and these pretty lake stones couldn't have been happier about that.















Pop & Grayson. Two peas in different sized leisure chair pods.















The threat of the Finger Lake perch, trout, bluegill, and S'more.

































"Uncle" Kenny in the background kayak. A gentle spirit with an amazing ability to lure the biggest fish in the lake all while kicking his feet up in a small boat.















Uncle Pete sweetly traded some fishing time with storytime.




















(Aunt Jen & Chili Dog don't need words.)














Apparently neither did I after a few of these...sensing a theme?





















Pretty in Pink





















Elvis lip in Green





















Nam & Abby at the park














Daddy walking tall with the kids.





















Abby's game for all of it.




















Grayson made a new friend who also loved a good spider web.















Back home at the cabin, my other girl and I spend some quality time in the rain.















And we mustn't forget all the toad hunting at night.















It was a week we'll cherish forever.





















It was a week I'll relish in always.

I love New York.

Unplugging

Pretty soon my family and I will be here, at the lake in Ithaca, New York.
















(This makes me very happy.)


We will be hiking here:
















And here:



















(Lucifer Falls - an ugly name for a beautiful place)


We'll be eating out here and here:



























We'll be napping, resting, and lounging here:









































Sadie will be swimming in this:













Abby could be bathed in this:













(Grayson here circa 2007)


We'll be shopping here:













(Farmer's Market with the best daggone Cuban sandwiches in the universe and maybe even Cuba.)

We will get to live without television, computer, or even cell phones for seven days.














(Because Taughannok Falls doesn't require being connected with anything but your inner awesome.)


The kids -and adults- will throw stones, fish off the dock, and enjoy their surroundings








































The best part? I get to go NOT like this:














(That was a big Grayson in my belly in 2006; 8- almost 9 months and ready to blow. I would repeat this tradition of going to the lake pregnant and huge in 2008 with a big Abby in my belly. There are no digital images to speak of. Picture a water buffalo. Then add flip flops and sweat pants. Then look away b/c nobody should have to endure such visual atrocities.)

So for the next few days, I will be missing you.













But enjoying the disconnect for the time being













(With the exception of my camera that will never leave my neck. Hope to get some good ones to share upon our return.)

See you next Sunday!
Take care and thanks for stopping by OSMA.

I Spy

She stops to smell the roses.
(Those aren't roses and she's actually stopping to stand her ground on which way to go.)






















She lords supreme over creatures bigger than herself.
(And I'm not just talking about Sadie here, (*cough* DaddyMommyGraysonGranparentsLadiesatGroceryStores *cough*)






















She cares for things smaller than herself.
(But cheers like a Phillies fan when her brother squishes a spider.)






















She is thoughtful.
(Rather, OCD'ing on covering every last speck of plastic baby.)






















She is patient.
(The fake baby has now lost visual but is tucked in to save the unicorns.)






















She is comforting.
(The baby is having trouble falling to sleep. It's having trouble seeing through cotton fibers too but all is forgiven when you're "Mommy" is only 20 months old.)

















She is the bestest mommy in the world!
(There's time to work on the blanket placement issue but she has the whole jammy SAHM thing going on already.)

Grumpy & Happy

Seems as though the kids have done a reverse flip into one another's personality lately. I'm sure it will all sort itself out in the fall when usual Serious Grayson starts preschool and formerly Animated Abby has his massive arsenal of suction cup war machines all to herself.















"Hello. I am cutting more teeth than a baby shark right now. Please pass the ice chips."















"Hi. I have a gun. I'm so happy. I have a gun. I'm so happy. I have a gun. I can't stop smiling. See?"

Book Club & Public Dancing: Day 3

Yes. Finally. A wrap up to the BlogHer trip. Just what you stopped in to find. No? Okay, if not, you have my permission to be excused from today's discussion group and head straight to ebay, amazon.com or facebook. I will see you there in a few...

Sadly, what I cannot do is give details into my life on the third or fourth day in NYC. Even sadlier, I cannot remember them simply because I didn't take pictures to help jog my memory. I believe that is Step One into the dark tunnel of an aging brain. (Step Two is having pictures and still not being able to recall what went on. I'm hopeful I will be able to ad lib once that phase begins.) So what I've decided to do is give you the highlights in the form of conversations I remember. Pretend it's a play. And we're all very trendy with hair extensions and bronzer (why not go all out?).

Some time Saturday Late Afternoon-
Me: I don't know, Cris. I think I'm just going to stay back in the room and chill.

Cristie: Why don't you come with me? I'm heading to a gathering at this chic bar down the street. It's going to be very laid back with women drinking wine and chatting about books (Book Club, not Librarian Nation). You'll love it.

Me: Yeah? Wine and books? I will love this. Okay, I'm in.

And there we were, gorgeously dressed and perfectly accessorized Cristie with her long silky hair flowing down her back and me: 5 hour old ponytail and lips the color of the moon. And you know what? I never thought twice about it because she was so lovely in asking me along and so right about the meetup being mellow and relaxed. Nobody even noticed I had on a Linus shirt and flip flops. And if they did they were too classy to stare or ask me for another cosmopolitan with two olives, please.

I had a fabulous time meeting a real, live, sleepy (as in tired, not unfunny) comic, Karen Bergreen, who also authored Following Polly which is the book currently balancing on top of my tower of unfinished reads. I haven't yet started this one but just the fact that she's funny in real life makes me want to skip the last few chapters of Eat, Pray, Make me sick about Italy Already and dive into the murder mystery asap. I'll let you know how this turns out.

*******

Evening of Day 3-
Later that night there were a few parties to attend. I changed out of my Peanuts ensemble and gussied up enough to hang with lots of shiny lipstick and clickety heels. I was feeling out of my element but happy to have one more jaunt out to be footloose and child free.

The first party had an excellent playlist that immediately got my roommates and me to the dance floor without much duress. Here we all swung our hips and did our best 1994 college girl hip hop. It was probably neither hip nor even close to hop but we had a great time pointing to the ceiling one second, then diving to the floor with our booty shaking the next.

Then this happened:

Me (to myself): You look ridiculous. Everyone's staring.

Myself (to me): Don't be dumb. Everyone's dancing. Nobody even notices you are off beat.

Me (to myself): You think? Okay. Let's continue. Shit. Wait. I forgot how to dance. I just now totally forgot what to do. Do we bend our knees or not? For the love of God, I just snapped my fingers. What do we do here, Self? Abort dancefloor? The Running Man? Scour through purse like phone is suddenly ringing? Help a mother out here!!

Myself (to me): You're a complete moron. Just relax. Breeeaathe. There. Better now? Hey, listen, It's Alicia Keys!! You don't even have to dance to this song. You just have to rock back and forth with a tough look on your face. No, not like that. You look like you have to poop, try something else. Really? That's what you come up with? Freaking the camera man? Great, now suddenly you are Miss Life of the Party, Look at Me, I'm Not Afraid to Dance in Public! I can't handle all this posing.

Me: waaaaaaaaaaaiiiit! don't goooooooooo!

Myself: Can we please go to the restroom to regroup and eavesdrop on all the cool girls now?

Me: Have mercy, I thought you'd never ask. Was that my phone?

The End. Of the conversation. Of the night. Of the BlogHer recaps. Thanks for reading and from now on I will not speak of BlogHer or The Running Man as long as we both shall live. Amen.

A Belated Thank You

It's been on my mind all last week to formally thank the beautiful people who made it possible for me to leave my kids for a few days without worry, anxiety, and 900 phone calls home. If it weren't for Nammy & Pop keeping the kids so happy, healthy, and thoroughly entertained for the week, I would not have enjoyed myself as much I did. So I thank you, Nam & Pop from the bottom of my happy heart. Thank you for giving me the gift of distance and rejuvenation. Because of you I can saddle up for another few months before needing to come up for air again. Or maybe I'll have another "conference" pop up in a few weeks that is of the utmost importance and urgency. And head's up, it might require me to stay locked in my bedroom with a box of wine (classy), 15 copies of In Style magazines, two Book Club novels, and old fashioned headphones that shut out the world and let in the Joshua Radin.

Much love,
Your Not Too Proud to Beg Daughter-in-Law





















With an evening that ends in marshmallows, who can lose?














This pic of Pop just kills me. I love the entire scene all the way from Nam's disapproving glance to Sadie's inability to be more than 2 centimeters away from her Daddy. And yes, Pop totally crushed that log of wood in less than two strokes. It was genius and a tad bit frightening.