Core 4 in NYC!

A girls' weekend in The City was just what my friends and I needed last weekend. We had the best time. I arrived first. As usual. I'm always chomping at the bit to get places and sometimes get a little to excited when booking tickets/getting on the road and arrive way before I really need to. Case in point-I arrived in NYC at 8:20. An hour later, Lars and Ball arrived. An hour after that, Mere arrived.



We were so excited that Kers had sent a car to pick us up. Yes, we were very much the country girls gone to the city! Every little thing excited us, as you will see!

So here is Lars with the car that was waiting for us.

We chatted the entire way to Kers' apartment, texting her along the way, wondering if we should pay the driver or tip him in any way. She giggled at us. Said no.

Kers greeted us at the front door to her building.

We put our things down, made sure we all had on our boots that we were convinced you had to wear in NYC, and headed out to our first food stop of the day. We had lunch at Recipe, a delicious place with local, fresh ingredients and wonderful. . . water.

We toasted our small glasses of tap water to being in NYC with the Core 4 + Kers!

After lunch we headed back to Kers' apartment (via Levain Bakery and Central Park, both of which are dangerously close to Kers' place) to get cleaned up and get ready for drinks and dinner.

The GIANT oatmeal raisin cookie. We also shared a chocolate, chocolate chip and chocolate peanut butter chip. Yum!

When we got back to Kers' we looked in the street one more time for Lars' lost cell phone. No such luck.

We got all dolled up (in our boots, of course) and headed out.

We took the subway.

We had reservations for drinks at Milk & Honey. Awesome. Kers rang the bell (to the wrong door, we realized later when someone stepped in front of us and rang the correct bell) and then knocked on the dull gray door that simply said "M&H" in stick-on letters. We had read that you aren't allowed to take pictures in there, so I was very careful to sneak a few of the nondescript door.

Drinks were made based on what kind of "spirits" we felt like drinking that night. They used only fresh ingredients, had pellet ice, and were each served in a different shaped glass. They were pricey and we only stayed for one drink, but it was worth it. So fun!

After drinks we ate dinner at A Casa Fox then called it a night.

It was like 5th grade slumber party in Kers' living room!

Saturday morning, after a run around the Reservoir in Central Park with Ball, we headed by subway to Brooklyn. I will forever have an image in my mind of Lars getting the train doors shut on her, while Ball and Mere clutched at each other and screamed when they thought they wouldn't be able to get off before the train started moving again! You had to be there. Man, that was funny!

We had brunch reservations at Buttermilk Channel in Brooklyn. Awesome.

My friend Lee, who lives in Brooklyn, met us for brunch and a walk. So fun to see a friend from home when you are on a trip somewhere!

We wandered through Brooklyn, looking for the Brooklyn Flea. Along the way we found things like really cool boots that none of us could bear to drop the money on, really cool jewelry, lots of random stores, and life-changing underwear. I swear! That's what Mere was told before purchasing the $18.00 panties! We're still waiting to hear the results.

We found the Brooklyn Flea. I wish we hadn't just eaten brunch. There were lots of stands selling delicious smelling eats. I splurged and got a mini red velvet cupcake for $1.00! Julie sampled the locally grown garlic.

On the subway ride back to Manhattan we decided to get off the train in Times Square. We all had to pee so we went into Kers' office, which is right in the middle of things. We were impressed again by Kers' city life. We were even excited about the elevators.

And we made Kers pose for a picture in the lobby of her office. In this picture, Kers is explaining to her husband how corny we are. Please note the circular thing to Kers' left. It is supposed to be a really expensive fan. We couldn't figure out how to turn it on. See? We could never survive in the city!

"Franchise" sitting at her desk. We were impressed. Her office had a window with a view. Kers is big-time!

We shopped at Anthropology in Times Square and Lars and Mere bought new headbands that we all agreed were super cute!

We stopped for a glass of wine and snacks at a random little place that we walked by. We had great conversations. We laughed, we cried, we connected on such a great level. It was my favorite part of the trip, I think. But the real highlight of our trip night was a visit to the Shake Shack. We giggled out way through the line-literally. I have never giggled quite so much while ordering a cheeseburger, fries and a shake. Then we walked back to Kers' place, eating fries along the way. We had to look pretty funny, each with a bag of food and a milkshake, while shovelling fries in our faces! Pretty typical Core 4 behavior.

Sunday morning we all had to go home. Well except for Kers, since she lives there, of course. We had the best visit. We really could have been in Omaha, NE or Topeka, KS and had just as good of a time. I love my friends. I am so lucky and blessed to have them in my life. Ball said it best when she said that she was so happy to know that we could all live different places and have different lives but still come together and have a great weekend talking about things other than just our college memories. I totally agree.

The weekend in the city was just what I needed.

Run! **UPDATED** Ran!

This morning, I ran. Right now, I am laying in the bed and I'm not sure that I will ever get up and use my legs again!!! Here is the update:

Tomorrow morning, I run. I will run my first 1/2 marathon. I am pumped! I am excited! I am totally ready!

So here is what I plan/hope to do:
*Wake up about 5:15 Nope. Got up at 5:00.
*Eat a Clif Bar and drink some water Yep. But only because Michelle shared hers with me. I forgot my Clif Bar.
*Make it to the shuttle bus in time for its 5:45 departure Did it. There were tons of buses and it worked out great.
*Arrive at the race start on time, with plenty of time to spare Done.
*Pee one last time Did it. Quickly. Very little wait at the port o'.
*Run the entire 13.1 miles without stopping (shouldn't be a problem since I have already run 14 with no worries) Easy. At least until the last 3 miles. They were pretty tough.
*Finish the race happy as a lark, injury free and ready to celebrate For sure! Unless you count the giant blood blister on my left arch as an injury. I don't. It's more of a Red Badge of Courage, if you will.

My realistic goal time is 2:25. My "I'm really pumped" time is 2:10. My trainer's goal time for me that seems really out of my reach is 2:00. So basically anything under 2:25 will be satisfying. And since this is my first 1/2, I don't really know what to expect. So what did you expect? If you expected 2:06:49 then you were right!!! I was so excited about my finish time. Very excited. And my girls finished right there with me. And my dad finished right there, too! It was awesome!

I'll keep you posted.

For tomorrow, I run! Today I ran. And ran well. Thankyouverymuch!

Trick or Treat!

I'll admit it. I'm not really into Halloween. I'm just not. But this year, Kingston was sort of "getting" the whole idea of dressing up and Trick or Treating. All of his buddies at school had decided what they wanted to be and Mrs. Cindy quizzed them on it daily. When asked, Kingston always answered, "Choo-choo train!" Of course he did. That is pretty much his standard answer for just about anything!

So one Friday after school I promised I would help him make his costume. We settled on the tank engine, James (more because I knew I had red wrapping paper at home than for any other reason). I got out the box. The black magic marker. The rubber cement that I was sure would be dried up after all these years but wasn't. The paper plate. I mean, what's a homemade Halloween costume if there isn't a paper plate involved?!

With Kingston's "help" we concocted the most silly looking choo-choo train. He loved it. He was quite concerned, however, that James didn't have wheels at first. "Mommy. James neeeeeds wheels!" Another colored-in paper plate later, James had wheels. I'm just glad he got over the idea that James needed a coal car, too!

So after a late nap (an no lunch except for a chocolate chip cookie and some chocolate milk. . . Thanks, Pappy for a fun day!) Kingston woke up ready to Trick or Treat. We went to a little neighborhood where I know a few folks and parked at a friend's house.

And without further ado. . . James!

We went to my friend Mary's house first. It was a miracle we made it up the stairs. We hadn't really thought about the difficulty of climbing stairs, reaching for things, etc. when designing the costume! Mary and her husband, Tony, watched through the windows and laughed at us as we navigated the stairs! They waited behind the door for Kingston to do his thing. And he did!

Knock, knock!

"Trick or Treat!" He actually said it! It was perfect! Mary and Tony were so sweet to him. It was a great first time!

From there we hit about 4 more houses and then called it a night.

The good thing about the costume was that he couldn't reach to get things out of his bucket! And he couldn't eat a sucker because he couldn't reach his mouth! So we fed him a few pieces of candy and that was that!

I'll be honest. Halloween is a lot more fun with a kid involved! I will look forward to next year a little more now! Now it's just a matter of hiding the few bits of candy that he did get. He seems to think it is fair game any time. I don't know where he would get that idea. Oops, I should probably wipe the ButterFinger off of my keyboard. Drool.

Creative Genius

What do you do after your son creates a beautiful painting with a combination of lots of every color of paint in globs that won't dry for days and with the bowls once used for said paint strategically stuck to said picture in a fashion that resembles boobs?




You go to rinse his arms off in the sink and end up just putting his whole body in there!

And how do you explain for days following that you can't sit in the sink every day but only on special occasions? We haven't figured that part out yet.

October!

I can't believe it is October already. Crazy. We've been pretty busy for the past few weeks. I have more pictures but they are on my camera. And my camera is in my car. And I'm not going down to get it. Because I ran 4 miles this morning and I don't have to do anything I don't want to today. Except go to work. . .

One morning a few weeks ago Michelle and I were headed home and on mile 9 of our 10 mile run when I saw Kingston's best buddy, Liam, waiting with his mom and dad for his sister to get on the bus. I may or may not have yelled, "Boy, put some pants on!" to Liam, who was just in a T and diaper. I cannot be held accountable for things I do at mile 9.

I went home and told Kingston that I had seen Liam while I was running. Ever since, if Kingston sees me in my running clothes (I guess the spandex is the big clue) he says, "Mommy go running? You see Liam?" The boy never forgets anything. Cute.

So here we are at Nana and WoWo's house after WoWo and I ran 11 miles on Saturday. No, we didn't see Liam. Kingston was showing me what he wanted out of the Thomas The Tank Engine catalogue. (That would be pretty much everything, if you must know.)


After I got a shower and Nana made me some cheese toast we headed to Aunt Freda's school for the Pumpkin Fair and to meet up with my cousin, Jason, and his little girl, Kori.

Kingston picked the smallest, most expensive pumpkin on the lot! In this case, size did not matter, but the type did (A Cinderella pumpkin?), and we walked away with a really cool, but way too expensive $9.00 pumpkin that will sit on our porch and rot. But anyway. . .



I got to get my hands on "Baby Kori" for a bit. She was so sweet!

Kingston just wanted to pick up the pumpkins. He really could have cared less about bringing one home, he just wanted to pick them up. So why did we end up with a $9.00 pumpkin? Good question. And why didn't I get a picture of said pumpkin? Also a valid question. I just didn't, OK? OK.

When we went inside to see the bake sale and silent auction Nana suggested Kingston hold on to Kori's stroller and help take care of her. Kingston thought it was a great idea and Kori thought Kingston was hilarious! Perfect.

Kori and Jason. Too cute!

Kingston was so sweet with Kori. He didn't want her to go home and he even brought her some toys to play with. She thought he was really funny, especially when he jumped on his trampoline right in her face. Sometimes Kingston doesn't like babies to touch his stuff or be in his room or be held by his mommy, but he didn't seem to mind Kori being around at all! It was so sweet!

Welcome, October! We are loving the activities so far. A great visit from great people, a fun visit to the pumpkin patch and quality time with Nana and WoWo. And more to come!

Bring it on!

Charleston '10

On Sunday Kingston and I returned from a trip to Isle of Palms, SC with my college friends and their families. We had the best time!

On Wednesday after work, Kingston and I headed to Raleigh to spend the night with Mere and her family before heading down to IOP on Thursday. The kids had the best time playing together. Sam and Kingston wore the matching PJ's that I bought them a while ago. They were really close to being too small for both of them, but they squeezed into them one more time for photo's sake!

The three blondies.

The trip down was so much more enjoyable with Mere, Sam and Ella along for the ride. We took our time but made great time, only stopping once for lunch at Cracker Barrel (Yum. I'm sorry as I can be but I do like that place.) and a rest area pit stop. Once we sorted out the fact that our rental agent had double booked our house and we had to go to a different one than originally booked, we anxiously awaited the arrival of all of our friends.

Eleven adults and 8 children. Good times. Four boys and 4 girls. Good odds. Somehow, Kingston ended up playing with the stroller and baby doll quite a bit.




But then Grant showed him a much more manly thing to do with the doll stroller! They looped and looped around the living room, giggling all the way. Boys!

The beach was gorgeous and we spent a bit of time down there. I guess it is sort of old news to Kingston, however, because he preferred to swim in the pool. And I do mean swim. He fully puts his head in the water, kicks and paddles, and can swim to me from the steps. I was amazed. He did so great.

But photo ops were best at the beach because I wasn't having to fish Kingston up from the bottom of the pool. You see, he can get from one place to another, but he still can't quite get his head back above the water! Baby steps. . .

Sam, Kingston and Grant had a great time playing in the sand.

Amazingly, we got all of the kids sitting in one spot at the same time (minus Ella who hadn't arrived yet as she was spending QT with her daddy) and no one was crying. A miracle.

On Saturday night, Kers' sister-in-law and brother-in-law who live nearby came over after all of the kids went to bed to stay with them so that we could go out to dinner. What a great success!! We went to Taco Boy in Charleston proper and had a great mango margarita (or maybe that was just me) a great meal (and really bad service) and so much fun. It was wonderful to get out and be adults! We were home by 10:45 and Lynn and Michael reported that there was not a peep heard from any of the children all night. Amazing.

And here we are in all our cuteness:

Front left to right-Ryan (childhood friend of Lars and Kers), Mere (Core 4), Mindi (Kers' college roommate)

Back left to right-Lars (Core 4), Kers (Core 4 + Kers), Lor

On Sunday morning before we headed out (a day early-we missed Da-da and home) Kers had Kingston, McLain and Grant's undivided attention as she let them play games on her computer. Oh, Auntie Kers. You are the best. And you are so brave. Kers and Joe are the only couple in the house without children and they still hung out with us and are willing to do it again!

There is nothing in the world quite like hanging with your real, true girlfriends. I love these girls with all my heart and love seeing the families that they have created. We all have wonderful children who got along amazingly well and were very well behaved. And the husbands are good ones, too.

I'm already looking forward to IOP next year. I think our realtor owes us big next year. Real big!