I had a chance to try “imPRESS Press On Manicure" thanks to Influenster. I was seriously imPRESSED! :-)

These went on so incredibly easily, I was shocked! I remember trying press-on nails as a kid and having them fall off in minutes... not these bad boys! They lasted several days before I had one chip and removed them. I'm sure they would have lasted a full week. I only took them off because I wasn't crazy about the color I had (dark red-brown), but they were fantastic. 

I absolutely plan to purchase these in the future... way quicker and cheaper than a manicure! These would be great for a party, or pick a fun pattern just for day to day. I'm a big fan!

www.impressmanicure.com

Adventures resumed!

Now that everyone (knock on wood!) is healthy once again, we were able to get out this weekend and enjoy some fun things as a family! Woohoo!

Saturday we did one of our favorite summer activities - we went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire! It was lovely weather, and we had a delightful time. We love dressing up, and getting the kids into it as well. Definitely a less comfortable experience wearing a bodice while nursing, but worth it! This was our 2nd visit this season and we hope to go 1 or 2 more times.

One of Lava's favorite things to do there is spend a bunch of time with the Fairies. He so enjoyed giving them twigs and leaves. They are so awesome with the kids, he just has a ball. Of course Macaroni just loves watching Lava! This was actually Macaroni's first time in the stroller sitting up like a big boy, and he was very pleased. He loved the view (there are endless things to see at Faire!), and was very comfortable.

Lava also was beyond thrilled to spend some time romping around with his beloved cousin, Bucket! And romp they did....

Such a fun day together. It is so amazing getting to do things like this as a family of four, providing opportunities for our little guys to see such awesome things like the Ren Faire! They love getting out and about, and we love seeing them take it all in!

We're still here!

I feel badly to have been so bad about updating, but it has been a never-ending cycle of sick in this house. First Lava got sick several weeks ago, followed immediately by Macaroni (6 month old + 103 degree fever = scary!), and now I've been sick for the past several days with a horrible cold. So unpleasant, and it has definitely limited our adventures as of late! Boo!

We did have our first brotherly bath event, as evidenced below, which was definitely worth documenting. :)

Hopefully the sickies will stop with me, and we'll be back to our normal fun times in the very near future!

Three day weekend!

It is always such a treat when we get a long weekend to spend together as a family. This weekend was especially needed after Spaz had such crazy work hours the past couple weeks. It was so nice to focus on us and not have him worrying about all the work stuff he had to deal with!

We had a fabulous day on Saturday at a local festival. Lava got an "unlimited ride" wristband so he went on everything! His favorite was the "fun slide"...you know, those super tall slides you sit in a potato sack to ride down. He is too short to go solo, so he sat in Spaz's lap and wanted to go over, and over, and over! It was just too much fun. Another favorite was one of the bounce houses with a slide!

While Lava went from activity to activity, Macaroni napped and snuggled up with me, as per usual.

You can't tell from the photo, but he was wearing the same 4th of July romper that his big brother wore in 2007. So fun to get to re-use these things and see them on Macaroni!

After all the fun and excitement of the rides at the festival, we went back home and got Macaroni to bed. Afterwards, we took Lava to his very first fireworks show (while Grammy & Papa stayed home with Macaroni)! He was a bit apprehensive at first, but soon shouted excitedly and pointed at all the fireworks as they went off. He's been talking about them ever since!

After a mellow Sunday, we decided we needed to figure out a good outlet for Lava to get some energy out that didn't require going out in the 90+ degree heat with little Macaroni. We decided to go to an indoor playground that I had taken Lava to a couple times before. It's a bit of a ride, but Spaz wanted to see what it was all about and Lava just loves it! We spent a good couple hours there Monday afternoon and decided to spring for a 3 month membership so we have a fun place to go during the summer heat.

Lava really enjoyed another opportunity to go down big, fun slides!

Macaroni enjoyed the cool, comfortable air conditioning and playing with his Daddy! All in all an absolutely delightful family weekend!

Lunch with Grammy and Water playdate fun!

One thing I'm really pleased about since re-dedicating myself to blogging is that I'm taking more pictures! Woohoo! I have a great little point and shoot camera in my purse at all times, yet I so rarely even think to use it. Now that I have this blog going again, it's not far from my mind to photo document what I want to write about!

We've had a nice couple of days! Lava went to camp yesterday and then we went to lunch with my lovely mother! Since I'm making a conscious effort to eat well, one of my meals of choice is a gigantic egg white omelette, so we went to a restaurant I enjoy. Next time I'm totally taking a picture of the omelette, too! It's epic. We also have a rare shot of Macaroni content in his bucket seat while we eat!

Lava has always loved eating with his Grammy. Even now when he can eat totally independently, he still insists on her assistance. He just loves it, and it's super cute.

Today we had such a fun time going to a play date with the local mom's group I'm in. They are such a nice group of ladies with darling kids, and Lava had so much fun playing in the water with them. As per usual, Macaroni was happily snoozing away in the Ergo. It is a perfect set-up for when we go out, so I can't complain. I just never get good pictures of him!

It's been a long couple of weeks at work for Spaz with a new launch that went out today. So glad he's going to be less stressed out now that it's done. Definitely looking forward to our long weekend! I think we might hit up Lamb's Farm like we did last Fourth of July weekend. We might also try to get Lava to his first fireworks!

Fun with the cousin!

After not having gone to this particular indoor play/eat establishment in AGES, we decided to meet up with my nephew and sister and let the kids romp and enjoy one another. So off we all went!

Lava and Bucket had a grand old time. It was super duper cute...wherever Lava went, Bucket was soon to follow. They spent a good portion of our time there in this "make believe" area. It's the only place I got decent pictures, to be honest. There are all kinds of fun areas here to explore. They also enjoyed the train table area. Bucket was especially smitten with the "Bee" trains. So cute!

Unfortunately I only got one photo with little Macaroni, but it's super cute with his Titi! Other than this brief moment, Macaroni was very contentedly snuggled up to me in the Ergo. I can't get over how cuddly he is! I just eat it up....

We absolutely had a great time, and have already made plans to come back very soon. It was just the perfect environment for all the boys to play and enjoy themselves and each other. Oh, and the fact that someone else cleans up after all of it? Bonus!

Some changes...

After my friend Erika had some scary stuff go down with her blog a while back she made a list of suggestions on how to protect yourself and your family when you blog. I didn't do this sooner because I was a totally inactive blogger, but now that I am once again making an attempt to do this regularly, I decided it was time to implement her suggestions.

SO! You will now be seeing different names for the members of this family. I'm still Elizabeth, but my hubby is now known as "Spaz", my first little guy is "Lava", and our sweetie baby is "Macaroni". Just thought I'd make a public post explaining this so nobody is confused when all of a sudden there are no longer real names for most of the blog's starring players.