Pip Pip Pip and Doodley Doooooo

I wish I had watched the Royal Wedding. This is all I saw this morning. Barbara Walters jabbering on in the background and not a snarky comment to be found.

The Drive Down

Our plan was to leave at 4am on a Friday morning to avoid NYC traffic and rush hour. Proud to say we were on the road at 4:09 and on our quiet way. The kids were still drowsy and snuggled in with their pillows, fleece blankets and their "guys".  Fifteen minutes into the drive Meghan says that she doesn't feel well. She's had mild car sickness in the past, but nothing major. I looked at her and just knew she was going to throw up, so I grabbed my handy carsick kit (forgot to pack the giant coffee can that I used to keep in the car) and had her throwing up into ziploc gallon sized bags and wads of paper towels. She didn't get a drop on the interior of the new car. What a champ. She fell asleep and I assumed we were done, based on past performance. At this point, Erin is freaking out because she panics anytime anyone throws up. Meghan woke up 15 minutes later and threw up again. And again. Slept for an hour. Threw up again. Oh, and then Erin threw up. Cue the scene from Stand By Me at the pie eating contest. At this point we are past NYC and travelling South on the NJ Turnpike. I'm ready to throw in the towel and try to convince Tom of the same. He's not buying it. I'm thinking, new car, her stomach can't handle a truck's shocks versus the smooth ride of a minivan and we are screwed the whole way down to Florida. And back. We stopped at a rest stop and got her Dramamine and ginger ale. Up it came and she fell back asleep for 3 hours. As long as she was asleep, we were going to keep on truckin. Didn't she wake up just right as rain? Apparently she had a fast moving stomach bug that worked it's way out before we even hit Washington DC.

Florida

We drove to Naples, FL last week for spring break. We stayed at my parents' condo which was awesome, because, well, it's always pretty great to not have to pay to stay somewhere awesome. To be honest, I wasn't that excited for this vacation beforehand, mostly because I didn't know what to expect. We've been to Disney a bunch of times and I thought we might be disappointed. I was wrong. It was beautiful in it's simplicity. Perfect beach days, quality family time around the clock and minimal fighting between the siblings. I big time want to be a snow bird some day. Here are some sepia moments (and some black and white).



This hat kills me. I love it.



Inspirations and Decisions

That much closer to making a dream a reality.. Here is the inspiration and also the final choice of the rug I hope to go with in the living room. I was able to bring samples home (awesome) from a beautiful little shop in West Hartford Center, called Comina. I wanted to move right in. Everything in the store was absolutely and insanely perfect.

I have it laid out on the floor with a nautical chart that Tom got me from the Coast Guard of Scituate Massachusetts, where we used to live. I swear I had this idea for years, way before maps became trendy. I love the colors in the rug with the colors on the chart (I want to call it a map, but was corrected one too many times that it is indeed a chart, not a map).

Here is the first runner up. It too was goooooorgeous, but the other one felt right. Those are my navy blue toes at the bottom of the photo.

Car Max

In the last 2-3 weeks we've had to replace both of our cars, opting for a 2006 Altima for Tom and a 2008 Honda Pilot for the family truckster. We both agreed that this is it, we are hoping to get through at the very least 5, possibly 8 or 9 years out of these cars. We also realized that there is a good chance that Tom's Altima may be Erin's First Car. How scary is that? She's old enough now (9) that in 7 years SHE WILL HAVE HER DRIVER'S LICENSE. Slow down the ride. I want to get off.

Can't seem to find what I'm looking for

I have been on a little bit of a writing hiatus, as well as a renovating/decorating hiatus. Also suffering from a bit of writer's block. Here's what I've been rearranging as of late. Bought the wrong size rug for my living room. So we moved it to Meghan's room, which looks great and has given her a whole new reason to tantrum when I won't allow her to sleep on the new rug. I moved the burgandy beast of a wrong carpet purchase from the living room which I am trying to lighten up and beachify and into the dining room. Definitely gives it a more traditional vibe, but it works for now. Mentally shopping a Dash and Albert rug for the living room.

See the burgandy? I hate it. I thought it was red at the store, and I never return things, so I've lived with it and hated it for a year. Moved it across the hall to the dining room. It kind of anchors the room, and is not quite as obnoxious.



I love the way this light rug looks but it is way too small...



I think I may finally bite the bullet and buy a Dash and Albert rug, which will give me so much joy in my heart, but it's a definite splurge. Below is the same rug, but in Meghan's room. A much better fit. Besides, we'd have trashed this in about 4 days.