Week in Review: Mother in Law Visit: Statue of Liberty

With the government shutdown, Liberty Island is now closed so I was so happy that my first visit to the Statue wasn't put on hold. We were able to visit the island the Friday before the shutdown and kept saying how lucky we were that we didn't plan the visit for the following week. MIL, kids and I had never been to the Statue before, Hubby had gone when he used to live in NYC in his younger years (Before Kendra). My family had gone when I was in the first grade but I refused to miss school to go see the statue, because I was that much of a nerd, even at six. We bought tickets in advance (they were more expensive then I really thought they would be) for 11am time slot but arrived there early and there was no problem getting on the ferry early. We decided to park on the New Jersey side instead of going into NYC, figuring it would make it easier getting home with minimal traffic. That plan would have worked except that we were so hungry when we left that we stopped at the first restaurant we could all agree on and then hit some traffic on the way home, but still ended up getting home early enough to have a normal bedtime. 

We took the ferry over to the island (which I am pretty sure is the only way to get there), they had a bunch of different ferries with names like: Miss Liberty, Miss New Jersey, Miss New York, Miss Ellis Island. We pointed out to the kids where all boats have their names and how each boat has a unique name. Ellis Island is still closed since they are repairing damage from Hurricane Sandy, but as the boat went by, we gave little history recaps on the island and Ellis Island. 

ferry at the dock before we left for the island

The weather was absolutely awesome, I wish I had packed a great lunch because the grounds were perfect for a family lunch. I had only packed some snacks so we wouldn't be starving while we there, but we could have spent another hour there just enjoying the view. I definitely would recommend bringing at least a sweater because the water makes it a little bit more chilly then the mainland, I took my sweater off on the island but I was also carrying around the baby and he is a little hot furnace. We even could have ate at the park from where the ferry left from and where we left the car. There was the old railway station there, built in 1913 that is super creepy but awesomely cool to take some pictures. The trip was awesome, easy to get to and other then the crowds (which you can't avoid at a huge touristy hotspot) and Steven sleeping through the climb to the pedestal, it was a perfect day trip. I was so happy to finally get to see this hugely important monument to our country. 

Family Trip: Washington, DC and Roaring Spring, PA

This past weekend Hubby has some vacation time before his mother came over to visit from Ireland on Tuesday (ahhh mother-in-law visit). Since Steven's godfather lives in DC he hasn't seen Steven since he was born, we wanted to visit him and my grandparents. So we left Thursday night for the five hour trip to Roaring Spring to see my grandparents. We stopped at Cracker Barrel (my favorite!) for dinner, I had fish that was amazing and we got there in time to have a full night's sleep. Then we spent Friday hanging out at my grandfather's wood working shop and picking out new winter riding boots for me. (we found the perfect ones at Target). We went for a little walk around town with my grandmother at stopped at the famous spring to snag a few pictures. 
We left Saturday morning for the three hour drive to DC and had a relaxing visit with Godfather and family. Visited a new comic shop and had lunch at Red Robin. Then left Sunday afternoon feeling well socialized and less stresses about visits that we had been lax on. It was a great little vacation and perfect couple time before MIL came into town. But there is even better news coming later!!!

Renaissance Faire 2013: Peacock Fairy Fantasy Costume

     So after worrying for the past three weeks about what we are going to do for Renfaire costumes considering my limited amount of time, the kids not being here all the time for me to sew around them and a complete lack of idea on a nursing appropriate costume for me, I finally sat down to start sewing this weekend. The week before we are planning on leaving. Six days before I had to have them done. All five costume. One week.

some inspiration pictures were
found on Pinterest and Google

    After the mental freak out on how I was just starting the costumes now, I was able to finish almost all of E's costume, a peacock fairy, with the exception of sparkling up a pair of sandals to match. 

    We were going for a combination fairy and peacock, mostly since I already had peacock butterfly wings from Halloween clearance last year. I am trying to make a point of not needed to go out and buy anything for costumes this year, my stash is a bit unmanageable at the moment so things need to be used. For the top, since I don't particularly like putting in zippers or buttons, I just reconfigured on of her tshirts, making it into a slight peasant blouse with cap sleeves.

before, just a plain tshirt
(not the one that I actually changed,
I forgot to take before pictures)

gathering that I put in the back to
give the shirt a bit of form

front of blouse, with peasant gathered neckline, cap sleeves and flower embellishment

     The skirt was a bit easier, we were going to do a full tutu, and I am still debating just using up all of the tulle that I have to make the skirt more full. Right now, it is a simple circle skirt with three inch black waistband elastic with a tulle bustle sewn onto the back. We added some ribbon and peacock feathers for embellishment and pre-made fabric flowers that I had for embellishment. On this part, depending on what time I have left, I might make some felt peacock feathers for more oomph, but I do worry about putting so much time into costumes that they only wear once or twice. 

fabric flower embellishment on bottom of skirt

tulle bustle with peacock flowers sewn onto ribbon

     While I want them to look adorable and amaze my husband with my crafty wiles, I have to remind myself that as long as we have fun, it will not matter what they wore. The first five times I went to Renfaire, I went in civilian clothes. Once I found petticoats though, it was on. When all was said and done the costume was pretty cute, Hubby liked it, E liked it and it only took me an afternoon. It was definitely a "while the kids are napping" project (by that I mean, the infant was napping while the other children and Hubby were playing video games). It was nice to get behind the machine again, considering that I haven't done any sewing since before Steven was born. I can still see the pile of un-sewn burpclothes sitting on my dining room hutch, staring at me angrily and stressing me.  

     A full picture of the costume on will come on Saturday with a lovely family shot (hopefully) and my family outing score for the New York Renaissance Faire. 

Family Adventures: Lake Minnewaska State Preserve, Lake Minnewaska Trail

beautiful picture bridge

pretty, giant boulders everywhere make for great climbing

     On Hubby's day off this week, we talked about either going to the zoo (which is always my first choice for a day out and about) or to go hiking. Since we are trying to reign in some of our excess spending, we decided that hiking would be the better choice. While we have year memberships to the zoo, the money we end up spending on food (while I do pack lunch, we still end up stopping on the way home to eat again) and gas. We live right in the middle of the Catskills, less then an hour from the Appalachian Trail and in a very rural area so hiking options are pretty limitless. Although that is true, we then had to narrow down our options based on me not being able to do much climbing, toting the newborn around and the two older kids hiking skills. We settled on going to Lake Minnewaska State Preserve in New Paltz, NY, based on a friends recommendation. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea why I never went hiking here after living in this area for 25 years! It was amazing. The park charges $8 for parking and $5 for a map of the trails. The parking was a little crowded but still easy enough to find a spot and the parking lot is where almost all of the trails begin and end. There are port-a-pottys at the parking lot and dispersed through the trails but they are pretty funky so I would avoid them if possible. We all used the facilities before we started and one of our party still had to use the woods. We definitely packed water and some snacks for a halfway break, granola bars, trail mix (carmel cashew from Target, my fav!) and apples. There are a few large, graveled trails all marked really well and we saw lots of bikers using them but the signs also said that horses can use the paths so be careful where you walk.

candid shot that Hubbs was unhappy about

Gorgeous view from the top of the mountain

really creepy bug on a sign

     There are also tons of just hiking paths, all marked but they do not look more then deer paths through the woods, I would not recommend them for hikers with kids...especially a newborn and a recovering mama. The trail that we did was only two miles which shouldn't take too long but we lollygagged and it ended up taking us over three hours. The park is also dog friendly so you meet plenty of dogs hiking the trails too, they must be leashed and there are no trash cans on the property, you should be prepared with trashbags to take anythign with you that you bring into the park. I came prepared with dog clean up bags and a large shopping bag.

view over the lake

      The views were amazing, luckily it was a clear day so we could see really far into the distance. At our usual hiking place, we see some hawks and mostly vultures which we saw here too. As far as wildlife goes, we mostly saw bugs and birds, nothing too scary although E was trying to find a snake. I am assuming that if you get up there early enough then there are deer and maybe fox or coyote. There are two swimming places, one public and one that is a membership area only. The membership section requires a test, all the information can be found here. The public area is small but would be plenty sufficient for us to go swimming, which we definitely plan on as soon as it warms up a bit. It is a mountain lake, so even in high summer, it is chilly. The lifeguards are only there certain times, so if swimming is your goal then check when they will be there before heading out. At the end of the trail (well the beginning too, since it looks in a giant circle) is a pretty grand picnic area that also overlooks the lake. After spending a few more minutes having light saber battles with our acquired hiking sticks, we headed towards home, made a pit stop for dinner and grocery shopping (where I stupidly left all my coupons at home and my reusable shopping bags!).

Lake Minnewaska State Preserve: New York State Website

Potentially terrified by what he is seeing in the mirror

Finally seeing in the mirror

lunch of fresh nectarines with homemade whipped cream the next day!

Family Adventures: Rye Playland

   This past Tuesday, the Hubby had a day off and with the kids home from school for the summer, we try to get out and do something once or twice a week. When I was working, Hubby and I both worked retail and when the kids were in school the chances of days off aligning were slim so we try to take advantage of the opportunities when they arise. He and I chatted the night before about doing something with the day off and the nice weather. Fortunately, having a two week old has yet to stop us from doing anything. The day Baby Steven came home from the hospital, I got stir crazy and we spent two hours at Target that evening. Since we have a year long membership to the Bronx Zoo (even though it is over an hour away and our days off schedule) so we try to go there a few times a year to actually make it worth the cost. Outside of that, the Bronx Zoo is in my top five favorite place to spend the day, so I always vote for it. The five (ahh it's now five!) piled into my little Escape and started driving towards the zoo. As we drive over the Bear Mountain Bridge, we drive into one of the scenic pull offs so I can nurse and the kids can look over the Hudson, while there Hubby throws out the idea of going to Rye Playland instead. While I was not against the idea, I have a small control issue that freaks when plans change like that. In my head I am freaking about not having sunscreen (we never need that at the zoo), no swimsuits, not enough lunch packed, no towels, no changes of clothes, and what was I going to do with Baby! Needless to say, after about half an hour of high blood pressure, I was fine and we were almost to Rye.
     The day turned out wonderful, I practiced nursing in public which is still an awkward event for me, not at all for Steven who likes to make his loudest sounds while under the nursing cover. (to the left: picture of Steven and I in front of the bell tower at the park, highlighting why I shouldn't wear red and that I need to start working on this baby weight) E and G had tons of fun, even James went on most of the rides. There are two pretty neat roller coasters that the kids really enjoyed, while most of the other rides are pretty normal fair fare. We didn't even get to the beach since we didn't arrive at the park until noon and by six or so I was too tired to keep going. From the crowds, I figured that most people spend the day on the beach and then go to the park towards the evening. We had almost no wait on any rides all day, where the kids were the only ones on some of the rides and around five the lines started getting pretty long, not Disney long but too long for us to wait to go on rides that we had already went on at least once.
     Our biggest issues were the kids not wanting to leave by the end of the night and G getting bumped one too many times on the bumper cars and the seat belt leaving a mark on his neck. They went on that ride twice, E was too small to drive alone so James had to ride with her. They seemed to have a good time overall by the end of the visit, well worn out and only a minimal amount of cotton candy was consumed.

The park had a log flume where the rider only gets a tiny bit wet, but they then included this lovely bridge where you can stand after getting off the ride to ensure that you are completely soaked when Momma does not have a change of clothes at all. While that was a worry of mine, James went right on the ride with them and while he initially stood to the side, I think the kids might have talked him into standing right where the most water can soak you. I am sure you can tell which of the over six foot tall figures is my hubbs. Positively, it was warm enough that all three of them were dry by the time we loaded up the car to head home.
     The drive is a little long for us, but if you live closer, I am sure that it is a very convenient play park. I really liked the option of purchasing a "spectator" ticket for me. Since we had the baby, I wouldn't be going on any of the rides, so for half the price the spectator ticket was perfect. The prices for the tickets were really fair considering that it is unlimited rides, all day from 10am until 10pm. They don't let full packed lunches into the park, but you can pack in a cooler and go out to the car and bring the food into their picnic area which is right on a lake that you can also rent paddle boats on. The lines were fair for most of the day but we did go on a weekday so that might have made the difference. Next time, I will definitely plan on going to the beach for part of the day. The park bracelets also let you leave and come back, so I guess you could go to an off-site restaurant to eat lunch or dinner and still come back if you wanted. Over all, my official personal scoring would give the park a 7 out of 10. Distance kind of killed a bit for me and my lack of preparedness might have influenced that score as well. But I would not mind going back and I would recommend it as something in that area to do with kids, at least from age 3 through 14.
     We are starting on redoing three bedrooms in our temporary house so hopefully some before and after pictures will be on their way as well as baby updates, and as soon as I can, sewing and crafts!!!