Ice Skating (Week 3...Sort of)

There were no classes this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. No worries we've got a Mommy with ice skating skills!

Thanks Mommy for stepping in to substitute on short notice!



Hasta...

P.S. If it appears Eva doesn't get in on the action much, no worries, she's happy to be a cheerleader!

Ice Skating (Week 2)

Today was rough. And it had nothing to do with ice skating. But it manifested itself in ice skating. 

Maia was off the charts emotional today. Crazy emotional. I'm pretty sure I experienced a glimpse into my future with teenage girls. Geez. All I can say is that there is going to be a lot of time spent locked in the bathroom in my future. I know locking yourself in the bathroom sounds like a teenage girl thing to do, but I think I will be taking it up too if/when we have more days like today. 

So, how does this relate to ice skating? Well, she pouted through the first 20 mins. She refused to smile or enjoy herself or put forth much of an effort. If I'm allowed to claim myself an "athlete" for a good portion of my life, it was all I had in me not to turn into my old football coaches and yell at her to suck it up and stop being such a pansy (or other expletives!).

She did get it together eventually. Especially when the awesome guy coach took her under his wing and gave her some personal lessons. Again...teenage girl behavior!

Before lesson:

We were more prepared with snow pants and a helmet today. Her skating did improve a little. Next week will be better. It HAS to be. 

After lesson:

Hasta...

Ice Skating (For Real)!

Ice skating has been a topic of daily conversation in our house for weeks now. And the big day finally arrived! Maia was stoked! 

This was one of the longest, funniest, most nail-biting 30 minutes I've experienced as a parent so far! 

Picture a handful of 3-4 year olds on skates for the first time. It was a cluster of falling, crying, flailing disaster. I cringed each time she fell (which was often and hard). I cringed each time they crashed into each other and sharp skates went in all directions. I found my body willing hers to balance and not fall. It must have been obvious as one of the Dad's of one of the hockey boys stopped to tell me that, "They will suddenly get it. By week 4, something happens and they can suddenly do it."  He also added, "I don't know why they like it. Looks painful, but they do!" And she did! Asked to get back on the ice and practice when her lesson was done! Nerd. 

So here is a video of Week 1. Stay tuned to watch her progress. I only pray that hockey Dad is right or we may end up with broken bones and a heart attack!

The outfit was her choice. We have now decided that snow pants and helmet are a better choice for next week. 

Hasta...

Guest Post

Hi...Hello...!

Ray asked me to write a post for his blog about a trip I just returned home from. I am an insanely private person, so although this might be easy for most, I will second guess what I write well after he posts it.

I just returned home from a very long week away. Ray held down the fort beautifully! As I knew he would! No concerns from this Mama!

I met 5 of the most amazing girlfriends a gal could ask for in New York City for 4 long, crazy, cocktail fueled days. We showed that city how 6 Mom's do it!



The weekend started off (and continued well into the morning) with club hopping like a bunch of 21 year olds. I don't know how much cash was hemorrhaged on cab rides and covers, but we covered everything from a Bourbon bar to a Cuban bar to an underground swing club to a Drag Queen club on Madonna night!



The next day was much more "age appropriate" with a bus tour of the city, The Met, Central Park and lunch at The Boathouse, a salon visit (for my very first blow-out!), and a Broadway show (Kinky Boots - singing, shoes, and more fabulous Drag Queens - Highly recommended!).







Next day involved more city sights, Empire State Building, more food (Thank You Little Italy!), Top of the Rock, and more cocktails (No Thank You...ugh). 





Last day did me and my wallet in with a shopping tour down 5th Ave and a small little something from Tiffany & Co.!

Friends...Thank You! Thank you for the memories! Thank you for not leaving me on that corner, on that night...even though I deserved it! You really are the best friends a gal could have. Next year the beach or a spa vacation? Please!



When I finally crashed on my girlfriend's couch at 1 am after almost 6 hours on a plane (don't ask...), I was happy to be back on Colorado soil. NYC is always fun, but I choose Colorado!

I stayed in Denver 3 more days for work and finally crashed on my own couch last night. Home Sweet Home!

Thank you my loves (Ray, Maia and Eva in case that's not clear!) for giving me a much needed week away! And for reminding me how much I like my family! Getting away is fun, but I choose being home with you all!

Later...

Halloween 2013

This is the first Halloween that I have trick-or-treated in years. This means that this is the first time I have taken my girls trick-or-treating EVER. This is a BIG deal! I LOVE Halloween!

For the past 10+ years I have been at work on Halloween well past any reasonable hour for trick-or-treating with young children or even passing out candy to everybody else's dressed up kids. In case you hadn't noticed, Halloween always falls on the last day of the month and in my previous career (prior to this stay at home Daddy business), the end of the month was also considered a BIG deal. So I have been looking forward to this particular holiday for months.





The girls were butterflies (Maia's choice). And Magan was nice enough to be my cowboy's accessory cow.  (Yes, there were several "teet" jokes as the night went on and fondling of the udders).


Eva started out the day in a pumpkin costume for story time at the library but felt more adventurous by the time trick-or-treating came around.



We met up with some friends and went around several blocks before allowing the girls to eat way more candy for dinner then we should have. We also allowed them to pick out 2 pieces of candy before "The Great Pumpkin" took the rest in the middle of the night and left them a treat in exchange. Let's be honest, Magan and I dropped the ball on the treat shopping so "The Great Pumpkin" left them each $1 so they could buy their own treat at a later date. An awesome parenting idea gone slightly wrong. We tried.



We finished out the evening with cocktails with our 2 favorite sets of neighbors. Thanks Donna/Jim/Mike and Chad/Jamie for the hospitality! Now I know what I have been missing out on all these years!



P.S.  A special thank you to the pumpkin thieves for helping with the trash pickup for the week.

Hasta...