Mommy and Me Monday

What does a non-Easter-celebrating family who has survived the Great Flood of 2010 do when faced with a GORGEOUS, dry, and sunny Easter Sunday?
Head for the beach, of course, with camera in tow!



It may have been chilly by the water, but the warmth in our hearts made it one of the best days I’ve had in a long time.

Gone on the Fourth of July

Yes, I do realize that today is July 15th, and I am writing a post about the 4th of July.

Since the sun finally decided to come out after what can only be described as monsoon season here in RI, I have been too busy soaking up rays at the beach to be bothered keeping up with my blog.

Priorities, right?

We had a fabulous weekend, but I suffered a traumatic loss on the 4th.

While enjoying a fabulous party at a friend's beach cabana, the Mad Hatter decided to show us her mad skills at pole dancing.

Yep, pole dancing.

And as I was frantically trying to capture the moment, a monumental crisis occurred that literally stopped me in my tracks.

My camera made a funny noise, beeped twice, the screen went black, and the camera shut off.

I was able to turn it on, but it would beep, flash E18, and shut off again.

At the time, I had no idea what it meant, other than that my camera would not take pictures, and while it powered on and off, the lens would not move. And that I was feeling slightly panicked.

Upon returning home and consulting my BFF Google, I learned that my camera had decided to bite the bullet. The lens was done for.

We shared a wonderful 4 years together.

Ironically, the camera was a gift for my 30th birthday. It was the year MH was born and I wanted something small I could always have with me, so DH surprised me with a Canon Elph SD300.

I turn 34 at the end of the month.

And again, I've received a new camera for my birthday!

Apparently, based on the information I read online about dreaded error code E18 (lens will no longer retract), I'm lucky we shared such a wonderful time together.

While I have an amazing digital SLR camera (received last year on my birthday), it's just not the sort of thing I want to be shlepping around all over the place with me.

So, DH and I did some research, went to Best Buy over the weekend, and purchased a Canon Elph SD1200. Pretty much the same camera, but with image stabilization and a lot more mega-pixels.


It was on sale, (but still a bit pricey since I was hoping to receive these for my birthday), so when we got home, we looked online to see if there were any deals.

Deals there were! We found the same camera for $35 less than the sale price, with no sales tax and free shipping. Fabulous, but it meant I'd be camera-less for just a little longer.

And just in time for 4 days of gorgeous weather that meant 4 consecutive days at the beach. AMAZING days at the beach.

I had to resort to using my BlackBerry to document several important moments - not quite the quality I'm accustomed to or would prefer, but captured memories nonetheless.

Alas, my reinforcement arrived today! It is so pretty and just in time for our family vacation next week to New Hampshire. I can't wait to break it out and use it!

I take comfort in the fact (although I'm not so sure I should, given the content!) that before the camera dropped dead, I did manage to capture these:

She is a natural.

And with my track record, I'm placing bets on what my 38th birthday gift will be.

That, and holding out hope that perhaps the Tiffany fairy might just pay me a visit after all.

WW - Beach in Winter

You may have read this post about our wonderful trip to the beach this weekend.

I couldn't let (almost) Wordless Wednesday go by without sharing a few more pictures from such a special day. Can you tell how much I'm enjoying using Picnik?

The Mad Hatter all bundled up and enjoying the swings

Poppy swinging alongside his favorite girl

The MH collecting "treasures"
(please forgive the quality of my cell phone pic - we all forgot our cameras!)

Sweetheart, Poppy, and MH in front of the fabulous jungle gym she spent forever playing on!

Definitely a day to remember, though we'll have to do it again now that Daddy is feeling better!

The Upside of Winter in New England

It's no secret that it's been a rough winter all-around, but this winter is one of the worst we New Englanders have seen in quite a few years.

One thing that's gotten me through each snowstorm and frigid day is the knowledge that in just a few months when the warm weather finally arrives, we'll be able to head for the beach whenever we feel like it.

Living in Rhode Island affords us the luxury of having many beaches within as little as 35-40 minutes door to door. We head for the beach on just about every nice summer day there is.

Lately, even the Mad Hatter has been talking about how she can't wait to go to the beach. She mentions it at least once a day! On the way to preschool the other day, she told me she thought it would be a great day to go to the beach because the sun was out. Yes, to her, any sunny day means that spring is here.

Sadly, I had to break the news that it was a bit cold for the beach, and alas, we were continuing on to school instead.

But today, she got her wish!

Last night, the dreaded Tummy Tornado blew through town, taking Hubby prisoner (he managed to dodge it a month ago when both MH and I got it) and I wanted to get the hell out of dodge give him a chance to rest without his faithful and uber-concerned 4 year old nurse daughter checking on him every 2 minutes.

It was sunny and the temperature was headed towards the low 50's. Even though it would be cooler by the water, I figured bundling up and getting some fresh air would be the safest thing to do a great way to spend the day. We called Sweetheart and Poppy to see what they were up to and before we knew it, the four of us were on our way.

We went to Galillee, a seaside area in Narragansett well-known for its abundance of clam shacks and seafood restaurants. We went to a yummy little place for some clamcakes and chowder ("chowda" to most Rhode Islanders). The MH was content with a hot dog.

The beach we chose was a stone's throw from the restaurant, and one I have vivid memories of from growing up. It has a great play area for kids filled with swings and a great jungle-gym. Many other families had the same idea we did, and everyone was so happy to be outdoors with the even the slightest promise of spring in the air. We chatted it up with other happy beach-goers and MH quickly joined in with all of the other kiddos running wild. (note to self: the parents with the cooler and wine glasses were genious, must remember that next trip)

First, however, she was anxious to go on the "big-girl" swings and show off her mad "pumping" skillz.

The funniest moment of the day, hands-down, was when she dropped to the ground and made "sand" angels. And then asked us to "bury" her (something she loves to have done during the summer). Even with all those winter clothes on, she didn't lose her vision of what we should do at the beach!

Finally, we decided to make our way further onto the beach. Within minutes, the MH was collecting treasures. So many, in fact, that Sweetheart quickly went back to the car to get a bag for all the goodies we were destined to take home with us. Special care was taken to find the perfect shells for Daddy that would make him feel better.

We found lots of great stuff we don't normally come across during the summer - Mommy's treasures being two perfectly intact scallop shells. We also found beautiful stones, snail shells, and brought home lots of periwinkle shells that have perfect holes for stringing onto a necklace for the MH (after I sterilize them, of course).

These days, she's usually running from her crazy mommy and the camera, but today, she begged me to take the next shot. It actually took her several minutes to find the perfect rock to sit on! (the quality is awful - I was so busy making sure DH was all set and that I had everything I needed for the day, I ran out of the house without my camera and had to use my cell phone - but hey, a captured image is still an image!)

I can't begin to describe the sheer joy I had watching my little girl this afternoon. She was carefree (as always), full of energy (as always), full of personality (as always), and full of zest for life (as always!). However, I loved watching the world through her eyes - seeing the beach of summer completely transformed into a different place. A place that is the same in the fact that there is water, sand, and lots to explore, yet so different. A place where Mommy's nose was running from the cold air and gloved-fingers were still frozen, yet the MH could have run around all.day.long. No crowds, no boundaries, no having to hold hands, no being told to slow down and stay with Mommy. Just pure freedom.

I'm always blown away by how easily she interacts with others; how quickly she makes friends with children and adults alike. And also by how happy she is to be both in the company of others or off in her own little world, exploring away.

And of course, the most special part of the day was getting to spend it with Sweetheart and Poppy. They have such strong memories of doing the same trip years ago with my brother and I, yet experiencing it with their only grandchild - their complete pride and joy - is entirely different.

I see their pride in me as a parent, and the complete joy and exhilaration they get out of spending time with their adoring granddaughter. We could not be luckier to have these amazing people as such a huge part of our daily life.

The only thing missing was Daddy (and I'd be lying if I said MH did not shed some tears on the ride down because she missed him so). However, when we returned home, both exhausted and exhilarated, Daddy was out of bed and feeling a lot better. MH helped out even more by doling out lots of kisses, gentle touches, and "treasures".

Something tells me it'll be a while before we can go back to the beach of summer as we know it, and we might just have time for another visit or two in our winter gear. Next trip, we'll be sure to have both Daddy and the real camera in tow!

Almost Wordless Wednesday - More RI Love

I am finally beginning to accept the fact that summer is over.
Yes, I'm aware that the temperatures have been dropping and there is a definite chill to the air first thing in the morning and later in the day.
However, I continue to hold out hope for a small taste of Indian summer.

Since my Top 5 Tuesday list was devoted to reasons I love Rhode Island, I thought I'd use Wordless Wednesday as a way to highlight one of my favorite reasons I live here - the absolute beauty of our summers!

One of my favorite views on the way to the beach: the Jamestown Bridge

A home I adore at one end of our beach (which without my fabulous new camera, I'd never be able to capture in such amazing detail!). Oh, to roll out of bed and onto the beach!

Cannot stand seagulls (I actually believe they are rats with wings) but somehow I find amazing beauty in this photo DH captured

The gorgeous view at the opposite end of the beach - this summer we enjoyed many family "treasure walks" down to these rocks, collecting quahog shells, stones, and anything else the Mad Hatter deemed worthy of trekking home with us (we even found a Starfish AKA sea star that we convinced her to put back into the ocean, as it was still alive)

Summer may be fading fast over, but our memories of this summer will surely be treasured for many months to come! They'll also get us through the feet of snow we're sure to endure in the long New England winter!

The Perfect 33rd

My 33rd birthday was far more exciting, a lot more fun, and way more special than I had been anticipating!

First, I woke up to this:

Actually, DH gave me a camera battery. A second battery to be exact. All of the above loot was from The Mad Hatter so DH wouldn't be in big trouble with me.


Apparently, I've commented on far more than one occasion about how great some people's blog pictures are, and how I wish I could take such great pics, and DH hopped on it!


At first, I was completely in shock and told him I couldn't accept such an extravagant gift.


He told me I've had a really crappy two years, and he just wanted me to have something really special that I would enjoy using. Of course, there were some emotional tears (by me, of course) after that!

Between his comments on how it was a gift the whole family would enjoy, many comments from others about how thrilled I'd be to have it once I got over myself and started using it, and getting further confirmation from my mom that he'd been working on this gift for over a month, researching, shopping for, and finding THE perfect camera for me (he actually has another one he needs to return!), I decided that the only thing I could do was accept this gift graciously and gratefully.


Now I need a photography class AND a Photoshop class!


Then, my mom, MH, and I headed to the beach for some of this:

DH and my dad joined us around 6:00 (my absolute favorite time of day on the beach) for some of this:

and this:

Of course, a family photo to commemorate the day:

And a nice one of the two of us (well, as nice of me as you can get after a full day at the beach):

It was a fabulous "hump day" birthday.

Thanks so much Mom, Dad, DH, and MH for making sure (as always) that my birthday was a day I won't soon forget! The weather was fantastic, and the ending to the day was my idea of perfection. I am one very lucky girl! As DH has already said, 34's going to be tough to match!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Not such a bad day after all . . .

As I should well know by now, the days you expect to be the worst often end up surprising you.

As soon as I hit publish on yesterday's entry, and the Mad Hatter gave me such a heartfelt and unprompted apology, my day did a complete 180.

And of course I edited my post to note that.

And I would like to thank all of you for your kind comments that made me feel like I'm doing something right as a mom to have such a wonderful little girl.

From the moment she apologized, she was the sweet little girl who makes me smile ear to ear and feel lucky that I get to be her mommy.

I went to massage therapy.

It was great, not torturous as I normally find it to be.

I need to open my mouth and be honest more often when the therapist is hurting me - it really helps. What a concept!

My cleaning lady came and gave me sparkling bathrooms and a clean kitchen floor (please don't judge - we must remember that I am out of commission and there are only so many things Daddy can keep up with around here. Even with her help, I still feel like things are never perfect around here!).

My mom, MH, and I went to the beach, where it was an absolutely glorious day.

We got to enjoy watching this:

MH loves to play with her friend B, who just turned 5 and is absolutely gorgeous (not to mention the daughter of one of Mommy's best friends).

And this: The hole that our friend S dug was almost as deep as MH is tall!

And we had our first frozen novelties from the beach snack bar. Yes, that is supposed to be Dora, and this Mommy even got a matching one. MH exclaimed to everyone that we were twins! By the time she was done, she was one big sweet, melty, sticky mess - the only way to be if you're gonna eat pops on the beach!

MH spent some quality time with my Godparents, Uncle A. and Auntie S.

Last summer MH refused to talk to Uncle A., but spent the whole summer telling everyone else "Uncle A. sad.", while refusing to understand that he was sad because she wouldn't give him the time of day.

One day, she actually pointed to an area far away and said "You go sit over dere.". And he did.

Auntie S. and Uncle A. retired last year and moved to Florida. However, they are home in RI and renting a place for the summer, so we are lucky to get to spend some time with them.

Yesterday, I got to watch Uncle A. love her the way he would love his own grandchild if he had one.

And she was a completely different girl - within the first 5 minutes on the beach, they were off on an a-venture walk to look for crabs in the rocks at the end of the beach. They swam together, played together, and I'm pretty sure he had just as much fun as she did - if not more.

My back was hurting me, I cried a little at the fact that Uncle A. stepped in to jump in the waves when MH requested that I join her and couldn't, but mostly I reveled in the fact that I am quite lucky to have the life I have.

Back pain or not, I was at the beach. With good friends and wonderful family.

Back pain or not, I got to giggle as I watched the new SMALLER size bathing suit I bought for MH still fall off of her non-existent little tush.

Back pain or not, my day was wonderful - the exact opposite of what I was expecting when I woke up.

Oh, and in case you were wondering?

My fantabulous new Cutco kitchen shears should be here sometime in the next week or so.