A New Direction for a Philly Family

A note from Mommy:


As you can tell, it's been some time since I have updated this blog, which I once updated quite a bit.  Two things have happened which have kept me away:


1) I finally embraced the current decade and got a smart phone.  Now, I can upload the photos I take to Facebook as soon as I take them and I have found that EVERYONE is on the Facebook.


2) Another issue is related to these kids of mine.  I once took a great deal of fun (and hopefully, you then had a great deal of fun) developing voices for Chloe, Amber, and Kyra.  I imagined Chloe as the gal on the go with Amber as the sassy foil and Kyra the monkey in the works of everything either tried. 


But, they are getting older now.  And while Kyra IS often the monkey in the works of whatever they are trying to do, all three of them are developing their own voices... and it feels wrong to invent fake voices for them.  So I'm going to stop doing that. 


However, I don't want to walk away from this blog entirely (as I have for several months).  I have some new ideas... some ideas to bring those unique voices to the forefront of this blog.

Stay tuned. 

First Up...

                                                                                                                                                                                             Thing 1: We like to be here, we like to have fun.

Thing 2: Happy Halloween to you, from Thing 2 and Thing 1.

 

(More to come...)

And Now: "What's Amber Doing?"

After Kyra's blessing on Sunday, I loved looking through the photos from the day.  I kept laughing when I found all these different photos of Amber just doing her own thing... so now, I present, "What's Amber Doing?"

 

Amber: No one's looking at me... la la la... keep your eyes on the baby... just going to grab these flowers... there's nothing to see here, folks..."

 

Amber: Oh, man.

 

Amber: I'm hungry.  I was told there would be lunch.

 

Amber: No one will notice if I just take one...

Happy Birthday, KiKi JoJo

Phi Sigma Sigma Founders' Day

 

Mommy: Founders' Day is my favorite Phi Sigma Sigma event of the year.  This year was especially poignant as it marks 100 years since our founding.  I like reflecting on what led a small group of women to boldly decide that they would not be governed by the expectations of those around them.  In 1913, a group of young friends moved on from high school together to Hunter College.  When they began exploring Greek life, they discovered that they would not all be accepted to the same sorority because of their different faiths.  They saw this notion for the unacceptable condition that it was and decided to start their sorority - one built on shared values and a common sense of purpose and not beholden to a shared religious belief.

 

These women had balls.

 

These women were women I would like my girls to emulate.  So, each year, I pack up a little troop of ladies and foist them upon my sisterhood.  Each year, Miss Beth hooks them up with some entertainment for the day.  Each year, they listen a little bit more to the stories that are shared.  Each year, they begin to understand why this matters to me a little bit more.

 

You like your Aunt Diane?  I got her from sorority.

 

You like Miss Gretchen and Ethan (cue to Amber swooning)?  Sorority.

 

Miss Beth, Miss Jess, Miss Melanie, Miss Leah, Miss Mary E?  Sorority.

 

When I went to the University of Florida, I was almost swallowed up by that campus.  You know what gave me a place of my own?  Phi Sigma Sigma. 

 

I share this story a lot, but it doesn't stop being true: When I came to Philadelphia and I didn't have any friends, I called Phi Sig Headquarters and I said, "I'm a sister in good standing.  I don't owe you any money.  I just moved to Philadelphia and I don't have any friends.  Hook me up."

 

The person I spoke to said, "Philadelphia?  You're in luck!  They have the best alumnae chapter in the country!  Let me put you in touch with Diane..."

And of course, that's the Diane who served as doula for 2/3 of my births.

 

I was never going to be a sorority girl; it was never on my horizon.  But thank God, I opened my mind to something I hadn't considered (and let's be honest, made fun of with my high school friends).  When I was initiated 20 years ago, I had no idea the impact that decision would have.  But, I can tell you quite honestly that Phi Sigma Sigma literally changed my life.

 

Diokete Hupsala, my sisters, and Happy Founders' Day.

 

#phillyphisig100

 

 

Introducing... Peter Pan

Here's our little KiKi JoJo in the Peter Pan costume I made for her... This baby is so cute that I literally can't stand her.

Later this week... the whole family in our Pan-themed attire...



Introducing... Tinkerbell

 

When Amber's Tinkerbell costume arrived in the mail, she insisted on putting it on right away.  She kept repeating, "Mommy, this so bootiful on me!"  When I made her take it off so it wouldn't get dirty, she hugged it.  Success!

 

Next week... Peter Pan.

Introducing... Wendy Darling

 

Here is our beautiful first born in her Halloween costume as Wendy Darling from Peter Pan.  Chloe absolutely adores her costume and loved our photo session last week. When the photographer asked, "Can you put your hands on your hips?"  Ed and I looked at each other and said in unison, "YEAH she can." 

 

We love you, Chlo-Chlo!

 

(Next week, we'll be posting Tinkerbell.)

P.S. If you love Chloe's Wendy dress, check out HollyBerryDolls on Etsy. 

 



Preview of Pan

Kyra: I have no idea what this is all about.  These people, I swear.



 

Mommy: Version 1 of Peter Pan's tunic ended up being WAY too small, but we did find a use for it... McKenna can be Peter Pan for Halloween, too... 

Amber at the Pool

 

Amber loves being at the pool... she loves to play in the tiny pool; she loves to slide down the slide and have me catch her in the big pool; she loves the snack bar; she loves seeing her peeps; most of all, she loves the attention she gets as she is trying to learn to swim.  In fact, she is far braver than her big sister when it comes to mastering this skill, so in her honor, we have a whole post of Amber at the Pool.  Enjoy!

Mommy Post: Mother's Day Weekend

Mommy: On Friday, Kyra and I joined Chloe and Amber at school for a Mother's Day tea, complete with a craft project.  Note to teachers: asking moms to manage glitter ain't a treat.

 

K and I sprung the big girls early from school and they enjoyed their first dip in the pool for the season... and after driving me crazy all day, they hung out during the evening with Daddy who sent me to the movies (blissfully) alone.  (I departed from most of my friends' Mother's Day weekend selection of Gatsby and with Tony Stark instead.)

 



 

On Saturday, I got the hair cut pictured above, also (blissfully) alone.  Yesterday, we had a great time out for brunch with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop...

 



 

...even though Kyra had to stick to bottles.  Chloe and Amber enjoyed the buffet and making me take them to the bathroom multiple times.  By rights, I should have had three mimosas since I have three kids, but I stuck with two since I am responsible.  :-)

 

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!  (Especially to my Mom - aka Grams and Ed's Mom - aka Mom-Mom)

 



Mommy Post: 38 Weeks

 

Mommy: Well, here I am at 38 weeks of pregnancy, just last Tuesday, March 19.

 

 

And here I am at 38 weeks, 2 days and 12 hours of pregnancy... accompanied by our newest addition: Kyra Joanne, born 3/22/13 at 12:25am, weighing 5 lbs, 13 oz, our littlest ever. 

 

 Like her sisters and her mother, Kyra has "the toe," an odd little trait that I've passed on to my gaggle of daughters - a way that ties them uniquely to me.

 

(Amber toe shot)

 

Thank you to everyone for all of the well wishes... Chloe and Amber, Mommy, and Daddy are all thrilled to welcome Kyra to our family. 

Valentine's Day with My Girls

So, yesterday, I was passing a man on the stairs and when he say my belly, he said, "Whoa."  

Yeah, Happy Valentine's Day to me.

But, later, at home, when I took a picture with my three daughters for Valentine's Day, I began to suspect that he had a small point.

Whoa, indeed.  33 weeks, 2 days.

Preggo - It's in There (Remember that Slogan?)

This is from February 1, so I was about 31.5 weeks pregnant.

Tomorrow, I will be 33 weeks and you won't believe it is possible, but I'm even bigger than I am in the picture.

I'm so large that I find it necessary to point out to everyone (including you, dear reader) that I've only gained about 7 lbs during this pregnancy... I can't figure out if that means Kyra will be 5 lbs or 10.

Either way, I just want it to be April 2nd already.

Isn't it amazing?  Nature does this on purpose - you get so uncomfortable and so miserable and so hormonally nasty that you think, "I don't care if I'm worried about money or losing my freedom or having enough patience for three kids - IT WILL HAVE TO BE BETTER WHEN I'M NOT PREGNANT ANY MORE."

CAKE: A Mommy Post

 Mommy: When Chloe turned one, I decided that I was going to be the cool Mom that made the cool cakes and that I was not going to buy cakes from the store.  I would meet every challenge.  I would be revered for my cakes.

I don't really bake that well.

But, what kind of a Mommy lets that stop her???  HUH??  I ASK YOU.

Yeah.  I need medication.

Anyway, on the one hand, I *hate* that I have started this expectation of myself.  Bakery cakes are YUMMY and professional looking and I.can.t.bake.

But, on the other, it's a fun game with Chloe at this point because the cake becomes the focal point of the party planning.  I don't spend crazy amounts on decor or party food.  If you come to one of our birthday parties, you get what you get and you don't get upset when it comes to the savory... I put all energy on the cake.

I thought that it would be all about cake pans.  Early efforts (Pooh, Elmo) were about the cake pans.  For Dora, I employed a little trick I learned at Pampered Chef parties.  But, then the Chloster started getting more and more difficult with her requests.  They do not make a Daisy Duck cake pan.  I think she was trying to test me.  But, I met that challenge: I free-handed that bitch, yo.

Amber wanted ducks, I made with a river.

And when Chloe said she wanted an Avengers party for her 4th birthday, I had a Capt. America shield all planned in my head.  I would do cupcakes on the side with little bought toppers and focus on my shield.  I would buy that new frosting powder stuff at the grocery store and EACH COLOR WOULD BE IT'S OWN FLAVOR.  I had a plan.

And then she announced that instead, she wanted a cheetah party.

Yeah.  They don't make that pan.

I was about to fold like a drunk on prom night and buy a cake, but then the internet came to my aid as it so often does.  Edible Cake Tattoos.   Never heard of 'em?  

That's cause you're not the Mistress of Birthday Cakes like I am.

Holla.

Yeah, yeah, there will be adorable pictures of the kids back tomorrow.  In the meantime, bow down before my fuckin' cake.

Oxygen for Mommy and Daddy, Popsicles for Rotten Children

 Chloe: So, what was all that on Saturday?

Amber: I don't know.

Chloe: What do you mean, you don't know?  We had to abruptly stop shopping to take you to the emergency room!

Amber: Yeah.  Weird, right?

Chloe: YES.  So, I say again, WHAT HAPPENED?

Amber: Stop badgering me; I don't know.  We were in the cart at Target, Mommy took a corner too sharply or something and then a little while later, she looked at my ankle and started mad trippin' yo.

Chloe: Well, your ankle looked horrible.  

Amber: I guess.  This is like the time when I was a baby and a bee flew into my high chair and stung me and she all freaked out and called the nurse and when the nurse heard me giggling in the background, they prescribed HER with a sedative.

Chloe: The nurse did not do that!

Amber: Well, she should have.  Much ado about nothing.

 Chloe: At least they gave us popsicles.

Amber: Indeed.

***

Note from Mommy: Oh, my my.  I swear, the kid made NO SOUND... all of a sudden, she had cuts on her ankle and the whole thing started swelling like crazy.  We're thinking fractures and baby boots and x-rays... and so was the nurse who told us to go to the ER prontinto.  Yeah.  45 minutes later and the swelling was almost completely gone and Amber kept looking at us like we were high.

So, for those who are playing along at home, that's 3 trips to the ER in 4 months.  

Good times.

A Review of the Colonial Plantation Easter Egg Hunt

Amber: What's all this? Why are you wearing a tu-tu on a farm?

Chloe: The Easter egg hunt was right after dance class...

Amber: And you're telling me you wouldn't have been wearing a tu-tu anyway?

Chloe: I didn't say that.

Amber: Right. So what were you doing?

Chloe: Mommy and I went to Colonial Plantation to go to the Easter Egg Hunt and then we visited the farm.

Amber: Snoozefest. Glad she didn't wake me up from my nap for that... anyway, proceed. Tell us all about it. Yawn.

Chloe: Here I am, being really patient that we had to wait 40 minutes even though the website said we were supposed to be prepared for an 11am start. Mommy was very proud of me.

Chloe: Here I am, finding one of the three eggs I managed to get. Mommy said that she wouldn't be one of those freaky mothers who guarded eggs for her kids and that she wasn't willing to get arrested.

Chloe: Here I am, being really cool about the fact that I got crap. Mommy told me on the way home that she was really proud of the way I conducted myself.

Chloe: Honestly, the best part was chilling at the farm itself, despite the fact that everyone who worked there seemed annoyed that there were children present. At an Easter Egg Hunt.

I loved these goslings and the horse and the sheep and the pigs and the poop. Mommy said poop is not an animal, but honestly, there was so much of it, that it should be. Plus, I did not know that animals poop. So that was really interesting to learn. And to discuss. LOUDLY.

Chloe: Here I am, petting this sweet little calf who was much more pleasant than his handler.

Mommy and I also enjoyed the sheep and the house tour. I was afraid of the 'pinning wheels because of Sleeping Beauty, but Mommy said it was okay. She touched one! I told her someone would get her, but she said it was okay. I really liked seeing the kitchen and learning about how they cooked INSIDE THE WALL. Mommy said she was impressed with my good behavior and how interested and engaged I was in the whole thing. Then, when Mommy said it was time to go, we left. She was astonished that I didn't try to steal a gosling or something. We finished up in the very disappointing gift shop where someone else was rude to us.

Overall, thumbs up - loved the animals, loved the house, loved the well, loved the oven, loved the poop.

Mommy's Review: I won't say that this sucked outright because it was a beautiful day and Chloe and I enjoyed hanging out together. But, the hunt was poorly organized, every person who worked there seemed annoyed to be working a kids' event (one even said so out loud) and I left thinking that they should have just mailed me an invoice for the eight bucks as a fundraising drive. But, the best thing about the experience was Chloe's behavior and that is never true lately, so I'll take it. But, seriously, Colonial Plantation? Be nice or go home.