OKI 2011

We have returned and are slowly recovering from another fabulous week in Oak Island, NC.  As of ten minutes ago the car was unpacked and nothing has been put away.  We spent yesterday lounging around enjoying the air conditioning and avoiding the oppressive heat that Cincinnati welcomed us with - longing for the beach breeze.

The weather on the shore was nothing short of perfection, with sunny, breezy days and beautiful nights.  This year the house was brimming with activity - six adults, two toddlers and one infant; for good measure we mixed a teenager into the fold for 24 hours.

We feasted on tuna steaks, fish and shrimp tacos, milkshakes - and in my case - Doritos.  With two pregnant ladies and one nursing mama, the silliness was a bit more understated this time, as was the alcohol consumption.  Without the presence of Phelan, no hard liquor appeared and almost a case and half of beer was packed for the trip home.  Christie and I did good work on polishing off some non-alcoholic beer, wine and champagne, but it just wasn't the same.

The little alarm clocks thought that 6 a.m. was a perfectly reasonable time to start the day and they often could be heard giggling well past bedtime in the room they shared.  Seashell necklaces were made, crab hunts occurred, beach walks were taken and the gigantic sand pit made a late week appearance for toddler entertainment.

Andy played golf twice on two beautiful courses and had one of the best games he's ever had.  There was beer surfing and horseshoes and tidal pool sitting.  For my part, I took a break from my Kindle and dove head first into Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (it was a reread before seeing the final movie) and The Passage (an incredibly good, yet creepy book).  You know it's a good vacation when two 700 pages plus books were devoured.

Now we are planning to shake the sand out of our belongings and settle back into reality.  There is laundry to be done, a refrigerator to fill and bar that needs to get finished being built.  We have play dates to get to and swim lessons to resume.  Just around the corner is "Pretty as a Princess Dance Camp" and a week long trip to see Gramma Kathy in the Berkshires.  Next thing I know the air will be chilly around here and we'll be preparing for the new arrival....and I know I will need a moment or two to look back at these photos and remember the simple magic of the beach.

stand beside the ocean

During our first trip to Surfside Beach she still wore diapers. She took naps without argument. She didn't use words like interesting, actually and exhausted. Her wrists were bookended with dimples and her hair could barely be adorned with a bow. She tightly held my hand walking the beach.
This trip to Surfside Beach, two years later, she barely napped in the car. Princess themed undies were packed and she had opinions. She ran at the breaking surf without a second thought and dove under water in the pool. Her hair was swept back in rubber bands and there wasn't a trace of fat on her long, lean little frame.

Yet somehow, despite all those changes, she still looked just like my little baby when she stood at the edge of ocean.

Another autumn with apples

All Addison wanted to do, while visiting Gramma Kathy, was go apple picking. She remembered our trip last year - picking the apples, eating apple cider doughnuts, nibbling on honey candy.

She was an expert this time around - she picked ten pounds of apples and probably only bruised about seven pounds of them by throwing them with all her might into the bag. She did, however, perfect her apple picking technique. Each time she went to add an apple to our load she would grab and say "twist and pull, twist and pull".

She ran up and down the rows of trees, pointing out the the best apples and picking a few that were just the right size for her. She would examine the apples for splits or bruises, and pause to shine the best looking ones on the leg of her jeans. She managed to munch on two or three apples and tossed the cores out in the woods "for the birdies".


So now we have ten pounds of apples waiting to be turned into wonderful treats - apple crisp, apple sauce, apple squares. Addison has also suggested we make an apple lamp or an apple plate.

She quite the little apple picker, but I am not convinced that she has the baking concept down pat.

Somehow while my mom and Aunt were in town I managed to only take three pictures.

None of which they were in. They did my yard work, but weren't good enough for my camera.

I neglected to take pictures at our tea party at Mrs. TeaPots. I neglected to take pictures of Addison tearing through the gifts they lavished her with (yes, SillyBands have entered our lives). I didn't get one shot of her holding their hands as we walked the Levee, or sitting on a lap for story time. I didn't get a picture of her helping with yard work or walking with them as we walked our neighbor's dog.

I pretty much captured no moments, sweet or otherwise.

But I got these:

We were riding the Duckboat Tours - behind Addie you can see my Aunt's foot, proof that she visited. Yes, we armed her with a quacker. Hers broke by Friday - Monday morning she found Gramma's in the car. She was a elated, I was despondent - that thing is LOUD and OBNOXIOUS, which is funny because that can also describe Addison's mood most days.

So while I have no photographic proof of Gramma Kathy and Aunt Ruthie's visit, it did occur. We ate Skyline, Duckboated and teaparited. We sipped wine, enjoyed gin and tonics on the patio and dug into various dips. Yard work was done (six lawn and leaf bags worth) and laughter filled the house.

It was an excruciatingly brief visit, but a wonderful one.

And as we were driving home from exercise yesterday Addie said Mama? I miss my Gramma Kathy. I miss her and I love her.

Me too, kiddo.

Vacay

Eleven nights.

We escaped Cincinnati for eleven nights.

We frolicked at the beach. Laughing with friends and family. Drinking so many Corona Lites that the lime gave us heart burn. We feasted on shrimp, fish tacos, shrimp tacos, Carolina clam chowder, crab cakes, more shrimp, tuna and anything else we could get our hands on from the sea.

Horseshoes were played. Beach reading was done. Sunblock was applied and reapplied. Baby turtles were spotted and relaxation was achieved.

But we weren't ready to go home.

Home to laundry and bills and an overgrown lawn? No thanks.

We were feeling greedy and grabbed a few more days of vacation in Washington D.C. There we stayed with dear friends that we see far too little of. We drank their good (scratch that extremely good) wine. We feasted on steak and tuna and king crab legs. We laughed and played dominoes. We explored the city and munched on delicious burgers at Good Stuff Eatery, a former Top Chef contestant's burger joint. We toured the Capitol and traipsed around the hot, confusing city.

Addie requested that we go into the White House "just to say Hi to Baaawraaak, Mama".

Yesterday we loaded our well-vacationed butts back into the car and started the long trek home to the Heart of it All. In all fairness, my rock star husband did 99 percent of the driving. My sweet daughter was super well behaved, and yet it still was a super long day in the car.

So now we are back to our overgrown lawn, laundry and bills. The car hasn't been unpacked. Addie has taken out every toy that she was without over our vacation and the cat has not stopped meowing.

But our vacation continues - in a few hours Gramma Kathy and Aunt Ruthie will be here.

Maybe they'll unpack for me.

Sean + Ali = Vomit

Let's start at the very beginning....it's a very good place to start....

Almost two weeks ago I checked off the travel list:
Portable DVD player. Check.
Bag full of toys. Check.
Healthy snacks. Check.
Packed suitcases. Boarding passes. Check, check.

Off Addie and I flew to New England for nine autumn days with Gramma. Four planes later, we're back at home, readjusting to sleeping schedules and wishing Gramma was still around to change diapers and pour wine.

I mentioned last week that there are tales to be told...and the first one has very little to do with Addie. Nope this one is all about me, my poor decision making ability and my questionable choices in friends.

After arriving at Gramma's, late in the night, Addie wrapped herself around giraffe and snuggled up in the port-a-crib, snoozing blissfully until morning. On Friday we putzed around and lamented a rainy day, but I knew that rain was not going to ruin my plans. See, luckily for moi, two very good friends of mine live about 45 minutes from Mom, in Albany, New York. She is there finishing her ER residency and he is there desperately trying to figure out a way to get fired from his job. They're both counting the seconds until they can return to sweet home Chicago.

Ali drove over the mountains and met me at the outlets for some shopping before we headed back to their place for some drinks, dinner and fun. Addie kissed me goodbye and mom practically shoved me out the door in anticipation of one-on-one time with her littlest lady. Freedom.

Ali and I shopped and chatted and shopped some more. We drove to Albany, with my overnight bag, and uncorked some wine. We ate cheese, laughed, had a martini, laughed. We watched Sean make us dinner and we plotted our night ahead.

Dinner was lovely - rosemary roasted potatoes, smoked beer butt chicken and salad. Our martinis gone, we delved into two bottles of red from their impressive arsenal of wine. We laughed at each other and with each other and at our shared friends. It was lovely. By 11:45 I was in bed...In my pjs under the covers. Honk shoo honk shoo.

When I woke up I was groggy and had a bit of head ache, but okay. I showered, took up residence on their couch and waited for our day to start. Big plans for burgers and bloody marys were awaiting....but first....I hurled.

Yep. I christened their toilet in their newly refinished bathroom. Embarrassing? Yes. Par for the course if I have a tad too much to drink these days? Yes.

Hurling done, I was ready for lunch and feeling great.

Then the waitress but my burger down in front of me. I got a little hot feeling. I could hardly bare to smell or look at it. I excused myself to the oddest bar bathroom ever (all covered in chrome, mirrors and yellow) and I hurled some more.

Yep. I hurled in a public place. A lot. Did I want to hide my face? Yes. Was I a little more than embarrassed? Yes.

It was time to trek back to the Berkshires - I was feeling good enough and thinking about the mimosas Ali and I would sip. We got in their new car. It was shiny. It smelt like new car. It had all sorts of fancy buttons and screens - and I hurled again. In a bag, in their car, as we were heading to I-90.

Mortified. Check.

And then again, 5 miles from my Mom's house. And then two more times in the house I grew up in. I was feeling a little icky but overall decent, talking and laughing, and then bam - hurling. My stomach rejected Friday night's fun, three bites of a burger, a Pepcid and bottles of water.

I was BROKEN. While curled in a fetal position, demanding Ali use her doctor skills to fix me, I surrendered my rock star card.

Once and forever.

The days of mixing alcohol - gone. The days of drinking multiple martinis - gone. The days of bouncing back - gone. The days of being awesome - gone.

I say it loud and I say it proud - I am a Mommy NOT a rock star.

Ali and Sean broke me. Maybe permanently. But that isn't really the big story about those 36 hours - the big story is that Addison made a decision on Friday night that has pretty much changed my entire world.

But more on that later.

Old meets New

We brought the inflatable pool on the long trek to Oak Island, knowing how much Addison loved splish-splashing in it last summer. This summer, however, it was never even taken out of it's carrier - my baby is a beach baby.

Our annual vacation to North Carolina was filled with all the things that make it fabulous: perfect weather, good waves, amazing friends, fresh fish and laughter, lots of inappropriate, endless laughter.

Addison and Evan rekindled their friendship quickly with games of "throw the squishy", "dig in the sand", "chase the crabs", and "go go go". Our mornings were early, and our nights weren't too late. There was a lot of bubble blowing, Corona drinking, DoodlePro drawing, and playing in the sand.

Addison has proven to be much like her father: a fish in the water. She had virtually no fear of the crashing surf or of the sand crabs scurrying toward the water. She started off the week cautiously grabbing for a hand as we headed to ocean. She finished it off running full speed ahead with out a second thought to the waves rushing in at her. Yes, my heart stopped once or twice.

In past years, our Carolina vacation has been full of debauchery and ridiculousness. Late night pizzas, watching the stars from the beach until the wee hours of the morning, break dancing competitions. Dozens of beer runs, a fair amount of slurred speech, and endless consumption of total junk food.

This year was peppered with the same things, but we also wove in delicious meals (don't even get me started on the fish tacos) and healthy snacks. We had plenty of beer, but there was also a fair amount of Gatorade and water consumed. There were no break dancing competitions, but there were "self portraits" done on a DoodlePro. It was good mix of the old vacation, and the new "holy crap we have toddlers" vacation....and I would not mind if we went back right about now.

Carolina ~ The End

I was going to try to upload a video of Addison heading into the ocean, but in all honesty I am not that good of a videographer and the videos I took were kind of poor.



Addison liked putting her toes in the surf and didn't mind sitting on the shore with her mommy and daddy playing in the wet sand. She didn't even seem to really mind the dry sand. She didn't try to eat it like Rylan did(yum), but she did smear it across her face.


The big foray into the Atlantic was, overall, a success. Addie didn't mind the waves coming at her or being dipped in the water as long as her Daddy did not let go of her. When Andy would try to swish her out into the water she let him know in no uncertain terms that she did not appreciate that (translation: shrieking and threatening to cry). As long as her Daddy's arms were wrapped around her and she could maintain a death grip on his neck, the ocean was a-okay by her.
So she liked the ocean....but she LOVED the wading pool (thanks Elise and Genna!) which is where she spent most of her afternoons splashing and playing.

So while there is no quality ocean video, here is a glimpse at her love of the pool and a peak into the summer fling aforementioned between Addie and Tool:

North Carolina Part II ~ Boys of Summer

Addison was quite active wooing the boys last week.

She splish-splashed with Evan. She also bossed him around, as she always does, and inspired him to climb up on more and more furniture (you are welcome, Renata).

She met Oliver, who Christie swears will be her beach boyfriend. Oliver is the adorable son of Christie's Dayton pal Critty. They vacation on Oak Island the same week each year that we do, so they came down for a quick visit. Oliver is walking, and babbling, and to his parents' dismay, biting. But he's so cute it's pretty easy to forgive a nibble or two.

But the big romance was with Tool.

Dear lord, the crush they shared was so obvious. Michelle didn't seem to mind that Addie was having a summer fling with her husband...I think she may have enjoyed having a little break from him. Tool and Addison giggled, played in the pool, high-fived, and did a lot of zerberts (over, and over, and over again).

She seems a little sad that her boyfriend went back to Chicago with his wife, but she is definitely enjoying her rediscovered love of zerberts. Gee, thanks Toolio.

While she loved all those boys, her main man stayed, as always, her Daddy.

North Carolina ~ Part I

Addison loved the beach...the car rides there and back, not so much.

Andy and I got so desperate for her to stop shrieking on our way down to Oak Island (somewhere around hour six in the car) that we dug a pacifier out of the diaper bag. Yes, I still had one in the diaper bag as my own peace of mind, even though she hadn't had a pacifier since April. Yes, I am an enabler.

When she first got her hands on it, she caressed it gently, went completely silent, smiled and her eyes twinkled and danced (I swear, they danced).

Andy said she looked just like me when I decided to have a cigarette for the first time after quitting for three years. Sad analogy, and sadly true.

Anyway, she popped it in her mouth for about a minute....I think she has forgotten how to use a pacifier, and soon it was on the Tucson's floor with all the other toys she had tossed in utter, exasperated disgust. After a few more minutes of shrieking and crying she drifted off to sleep and so did I. When we woke up Andy was pulling off the highway to check into a hotel ~ In Chapel Hill 3 1/2 hours from Oak Island.

We were on the beach Saturday by 12 p.m....and the shrieking was soon forgotten.

North Carolina

The trunk is packed. The toys are in the back seat. Multiple cans of SPF have been purchased.
North Carolina here we come.....

No Wi-Fi there, pals...we'll update you on our adventures in a little over a week :)