A visit upstate with my family

If you are new to my family blog then you must know that I LOVE THE FALL SEASON!!! I am so happy that Cupcake is another year older and another year able to understand what is going on around us! We decided to take a trip to see my brother, Wahlberg, Boo, Tink and KMan to Upstate NY. They invited us for a weekend of fun in Central NY. We arrived insanely late, ate large amounts of food and Cupcake thought it would be fun to stay up until 2am, lovely!

Good thing we were staying a few days! Cupcake and Tink played, fought, played and fought all morning (it is so nice to see them together). After some lounging around we decided to hit the apple orchards! We decided that we were going to make an apple pie and only the finest NY apples would do. We picked, walked, ate and played at the farm. We also went on a hayride and picked some pumpkins. Cupcake and Tink had so much fun! Boo and KMan entertained the girls, they are great sports! It is so weird to see how grown up they are, how they are maturing into young adults, developed great personalities and senses of humor. I can see part of my family in them as well as Wahlberg's family. They really are great kids!

After a fun day we headed home to make some apple pie and eat some sushi! Good times were had, plenty of laughs and loads of memories. I wish we lived closer so we could spend more time with them. Let the Fall festivities continue!

I just realized the title sounds like my family is serving time in the big house, lol.

We are moving up in the world

Cupcake is growing up! She goes to school, takes swimming lessons, almost ready for potty training too! We thought it would be a great idea to start moving her into a big girl bed so her new brother/sister can use her crib. We spent endless hours shopping for furniture to make her room perfect! If you know me you know that I am extremely indecisive. Well, that's not fair to say. I am great at making decisions and purchases however I am convinced the minute I buy anything something better, nicer, prettier, cheaper will be available. I always buy clothes and return endless amounts of them. If I could buy a bedroom I would bring it home to see it in natural light and return if need be. Nanny decided to join us on our quest for Cupcake's bedroom. If you don't know, Nanny is my Franc (Father of the Bride). I can always count on Nanny to join me on a wild goose chase.

After countless days, hours and hitting EVERY furniture store in a 60 mile radius WE FOUND A BEDROOM set! Cupcake was so happy and so were we. It arrived on a bright sunny day just in time for a nap. We put on our new sheets and got ready for a snuggly nap. It never happened. No worries, she must be so excited so we will wait to try out our new bed tonight! Well, it never happened. Cupcake LOVES her bed however she does not want to sleep in it! What's not to like........she has comfy sheets, down comforter, plush pillows, I wanted to sleep in it...........and I did! I spent several nap times and night times laying my big ol pregnant self in bed with Cupcake. Just when I thought she was asleep I would shimmy my fat pregnant arse to the bottom of the bed like a worm, tip toe out of the room only to hear "please don't go mommy". I felt horrible. I didn't want to leave her but I didn't want to form a bad habit of sleeping with my kids. Not to mention, I'm pregnant! I want to sleep, I need to sleep! I read all the books, googled the topic, asked everyone I knew what to do about this. We tried everything from walking her back to bed, reading more stories, ignoring her pleas and "Stand Strong" This lasted for 6 weeks! I always swore I would never give in as a parent but guess what, I did and I'm not ashamed of it. We put Cupcake back into her crib (probably not the best idea) and all welcomed a good nights sleep.

UPDATE: we moved her out of her crib because we had to get the nursery ready and guess what.........she's still not in her bed! I caved yet again and bought her a princess toddler bed! I will never talk about or judge another person again!

First day of school!

Our little Cupcake is growing up! Since Cupcake went to daycare and spent endless hours with other toddlers we felt that she needed to further her education. We signed her up at a local Christian preschool and fingers crossed she will love it. Me being the confidant mom is sure she will love it. Hubby feels that she will run for the hills and will hate it.

We talked, talked and talked all about school. Cupcake was so happy and couldn't wait to use her new back pack. The morning arrived, we had our new clothes picked out, put on and a hearty breakfast in our belly. We were all set to go! I had the camera ready but hubby said he would take the pics, I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed and nervous for her. Hubby wasn't sure he wanted to drop her off (he didn't on her first day of daycare either). We got into the car and were ready to roll when Cupcake asked for the first time "you stay Mommy". I almost melted. I knew I wasn't staying and I wanted her to feel comfortable staying. I couldn't lie to her but I didn't want to make her nervous. I excitedly said that I couldn't stay because Mommy had to go home and clean (stop laughing) and she would have more fun with her new friends playing games. The ride got progressively worse and 5 minutes later we arrived. She was happy to arrive and take some pics HOWEVER the minute we walked into the building her kung fu grip tightened. Hubby somehow arrived for his cameo, took a picture (outside) and left. I don't think he ever made it in the building. Cupcake and I hit the hallway and walked into the classroom, tears immediately started from everyone around us. She cried a few minutes but saw the water table, sand table and baby dolls. I stayed a few minutes and when she calmed down and ripped herself off me I decided to leave. I gave Cupcake a big hug and kiss and assured her that she would be fine and have a super duper day (yes, I said super duper). I calmly walked out of the school and prayed I wouldn't get a phone call to pick her up.

3 hours later (and after a breakfast with other moms) I returned to find a happy, messy little girl with some artwork to show! She was happy, sleepy and in need of lunch! I was thrilled and couldn't wait to discuss her day, after a nap of course!

Our little cupcake is on her educational way, wish her luck!

It's festival season.....

Growing up we would attend so many local festivals, all in the names of saints or heritages. We would go to the St. Ann's feast, San Gennaro festival, Italian festival, St. Patty's Day parade (not the same but you see where I'm going with this). The food would be endless with zeppole's, sausage, peppers and onions, gelato and so many gluttonous items that we would fast all week in order to eat at the fest this weekend and for multiple days. Everyone was related or you at least knew Uncle Tony, Vinny boombats, Nicky knuckles, etc. It was so much fun and we would plan well in advance for this. It would consume our weekends (especially in high school, anyone who was anyone attended). Ahhh, the memories.

Fast foward to present day and I relocated to an area where we celebrate local fruits, vegetables and probably animals. To date I have been to the strawberry, potato, mushroom, blueberry, Johnny Appleseed festivals just to name a few. Some have been full of Elam, Isiah, Rebecka, all seem to be related. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy to attend the local festivities, I just find it interesting that it's the same wherever you go. All the locals gather together to break bread (or mushrooms), sing, dance, trade stories, you get the idea.

We attended the Mushroom Festival and it was amazing! I never knew there is 198 ways to cook, serve, eat mushrooms. It was the Bubba Gump of mushroom festivals. So much fun, so little time. Our friends even came down to witness this with us!

I must say that since I hit the 2nd trimester my photography skills have been lacking. I've been too tired to argue with hubby about posing for a pic and not calm enough to wait for Cupcake to stand for a pic.

Overall, it was so much fun. S & D enjoyed themselves, Hubby was full of mushrooms, Cupcake had fun on rides and I was just happy that we finally made it to another festival. I will check my calendar and let me know if you have any festivals you want to come to!!!

The dancing queens and king of MOMS club

Since I am a SAHM (stay at home mom) I decided to join the local MOMS club. MOMS is an organization for all moms and their kiddies (Moms Offering Moms Support). I really wanted to join so Cupcake could make some friends her age and I can meet other local moms. At first I had mixed emotions about joining, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was afraid it would either be a group of women one upping each other about the fabulousness of their kids (everyone has fabulous kids) or a bunch of Debbie Downers ho-humming about the challenges of motherhood. Well, I am happy to say that I joined and I joined the hell out of this club! I LOVE IT! First of all, it was a great way to meet little ones for Cupcake and I really did meet a bunch of great women rather quickly. Everyone is so nice, friendly, full of great ideas (relating to kids, life, etc) and always willing to hang out and talk. Not sure if you know but I was in a sorority back in the day and I LOVED it! I guess I'm a joiner of social organizations, lol!!! Secondly, it is nice to know that when I am having a tough "day at the office" I can always find someone to relate, offer advice or just laugh with me.

Sooooooo, one of the great aspects of MOMS is the endless amounts of great ideas in my area. We have been here almost 7 years already however I know very few "things to do" with kids. One of the fun activities was a free dance lesson. I thought this would be great for Cupcake since she always talks about ballet. We joined some friends and danced our little bottoms off. All the little queens had so much fun, we even had a king join us. Plenty of dancing and guess what, Cupcake LOVED it! Of course she loved it, why wouldn't she. She actually followed directions and listened carefully every time the teacher spoke, she was serious about her dance. I think I will wait before I sign her up for lessons.

Labor Day is here!

Labor Day is here and we are tired! We went to Nonna and Pop's and ran around like maniacs! I am starting to feel really pregnant but I think it has more to do with the heat. Unfortunately majority of the pics were deleted so we have little to share.

We are happy that this is the unofficial end to summer, we are ready to start preschool (Mommy is, lol)!

Labor Day at Nanny and Pampi's house

After our Jersey adventure we headed North to Nanny and Pampi's house to visit with my family. My parents, brother and his family were all there!!! Cupcake was so happy to see Tink! They played, danced and drew murals all over Pampi's steps. If anyone knows my dad he is OCD and rarely "goes with the flow" when it comes to making a mess, I mean creating a masterpiece. Funny how he is creative but he is the mad scientist and only works in controlled environments. To make matters worse my brother showed the girls how to make their creations more elaborate. I thought Pampi took it well and only sighed in the background. He never let the girls know that he was suffering in silence from all the beautiful artwork (to be cleaned as soon as they left).

Cupcake and Tink spent the rest of the day dancing and laughing. It is so nice to see them play together, two peas in a pod. Boo and KMan also spent time playing with the girls, they always entertain the girls and participate in crazy activities. It was nice to hang with my brother and Wahlberg, they always make me laugh. Nanny, as usual, had a fantastic spread of food and many laughs to be had.

Labor Day weekend is definitely a busy holiday for us!!! Hope you are enjoying your holiday too!

Atlantic City

After our OCNJ visit we knew we wanted to spend the night since our final destination would be to Nanny and Pampi's house. Instead of driving home we looked high and low for a hotel and the easiest location would be AC. Normally I would be so excited for this sleepover however with a toddler in tow I wasn't sure how this would pan out for us. Would we "those people" with a 2 year old hitting the slots, eating late dinners on the boardwalk.....you beatcha!

We arrived at Trump tower and as we walked through the casino to check in we received many hairy eye balls and even a walk by from security. Seriously people, can you give me some credit. If we were going to walk into a casino with a 2 year old we would at least have a drink and cigarette in hand to really round out the viewing experience. We only had one night at the luxurious Trump tower and checked in at dinner time so we quickly ate (Cupcake was well behaved) and walked the boardwalk until it was time to retire for the night.

We accomplished Cupcake's first night at a hotel however she was up at 3am watching Law & Order (duh duh), we never shut the TV off and realized it was going to be a long day. Up and at em for an early boardwalk breakfast, running the boards and enjoying the sunshine on our faces.

Up next.......Nanny & Pampi's house!

Labor Day weekend......Let's hit the beach!

We weren't sure how we wanted to end our "Summer of Cupcake" or Hubby's vacation. After much consideration we decided to do it all! First stop.......the beach!

We like to visit a new beach/tourist town every year and since we live on the east coast our option are endless. Up now, OCNJ (I love abbreviations). For those of you not in the know it stands for Ocean City, NJ. I've never been but heard it is an amazing stop for kids and the critics are correct! We only went for the day because of our packed weekend. We walked the boards and rode the rides, it is perfect for little ones. Dear Hubby went on almost every ride (I'm not allowed nor do I think I would fit) and they had a blast! We hated that our visit was coming to an end but lots to do!!

Where to next...........AC baby (with a toddler, you stay classy)