DC day 3

   

Day 3 in DC took us to the National Aquarium. Basically it was a long hallway in a basement with some fish tanks, but it was on the kids ' list of to-do's, so we obliged.  We saw some interesting fish and had a couple of very happy children. After that, we went to the American History Museum which seemed like three museums on three floors, in one building, The kids had a blast touring the history of transportation on the first floor, and by the time we got to the third floor, we were spent. After visiting the gift shop, we made our way to the National Mall for, you guessed it...ice cream.  A quick ride back on the Metro, some fabulous take out from a place called The Diner, and we called it a day.

Don't worry...only two more days to go. :)

xo

nessa dee

DC Days 1 and 2

 Day one in DC was a short one. We arrived in the afternoon, and didn't make it to my brother's place [our
 five star accommodations], until late afternoon. He wasn't there to greet us [the jerk] , but he left us a bunch of souvenirs labeled with our names, internet access codes, and a map labeled with every place we might need to go within walking distance. We decided to make a visit to the grocery store [for ice cream and cookies, of course], and then take the Metro to see the Lincoln Memorial at night. It was a bit scary walking through DC at night, but once we got around the monuments, they were packed with tourists and prom goers, which eased our fears. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm was blowing in, and we had about five minutes with Lincoln before my brother picked us up.

Day 2 meant a Capitol tour, a visit to the Library of Congress, an evacuation of the Library of Congress thanks to a suspicious package left out front, a late lunch on the mall, and the Air and Space Museum.
We weren't sure if the kids would be up for so much. They were pretty tired of walking after the Library of Congress, and almost lost all hope when they saw how far away the food trucks sat, but, again, ice cream promises and sugar highs can fix a good case of the grumpies. The kids were ready to visit five more museums after Oreo coffee in a cone. After I got peed on by the youngest of my brood, though, I did good to make through the first floor of the Air and Space Museum. It was here that the kids finally got to see something they had been begging for all day...the gift shop. Exhausted, we headed back to Le Hotel de Jacques, and ate our weight in delicious cake from a bakery called Cake Love that just happened to be on our route. The cake in a jar was superb!

xo

nessa dee

dresser dress-up

It took less than $15 and 15 minutes to take August's dresser from this:

To this:

And the verdict?

One happy baby...

and one slobbery drawer pull.

All of these knobs came from Hobby Lobby and were $2 - $3 thanks to a 50% off sale.

xo 

nessa dee

I need a vacation after my vacation

Seriously, what crazy person decided that in order to have a great vacation, one needs to experience everything a city has to offer? Oh yeah, that was me. After five days in DC, I am utterly exhausted. We walked at least 20 miles...each day. When we weren't walking we were eating ice cream to counteract any chance that we might actually lose weight on a vacation. We saw so much, experienced a ton, and learned a whole helluva lot. [What better way to get your kids to learn than to disguise an educational trip with the word 'vacation']  All in all, this trip was a success, and I can't tell you about it all in one post, unless you want to sit in front of your computer for 3 hours, looking at 700 pictures, so I'm going to split it up for your convenience [and my sanity].

 First of all, I want to say a HUGE thank you...to my kids...for being awesome!! 

This being August's first flight, we were forced to jump in the treacherous waters of trying to keep a very active and unusually loud nine month old quiet for three hours in a claustrophobia inducing tube filled with passengers thousands of feet in the air. These poor unsuspecting passengers were our test subjects for the trial first flight of our third child. We were quite nervous to say the least. Our saving grace came in the form of four other families with babies on our flight. We knew then that the hate would be evenly distributed among us, and the pressure was somewhat diminished. But as the flight got underway, we learned that keeping our baby quiet wouldn't be a problem, however, keeping my arms functioning would. Though he was quiet, his constant game of stand up, unlock the tray table, pull it down, put it up, turn around, sit down, unbuckle Mommy's seat belt, lift the seat arm, put it back down, grab a book, drop it on the floor, pick it up, repeat, took its toll on my arm strength. But...he was quiet!! [unlike some of the other kids.] So we breathed a huge sigh of relief when we landed, and prayed for the upcoming flight home, which I'm happy to report went swimmingly thanks to the same families flying back with us. Sweet serendipity!

As for the rest of the trip, my kids deservedly had the right to complain with as much as we dragged them around, but there was very little whining and complaining [and a lot of ice cream promises] and it's because of that fact that we were able to see so much more than I expected. I went with a list of things the kids wanted to see, things I hoped to see if there was time, and no expectations, but thanks to my little troopers, we were able to see everything on that list, plus some.

It's because of them, you will have to suffer through post after post of a ridiculous amount of pictures from our trip.

 Thanks a lot, kids.

xo

nessa dee

What's this? A craft project, you say?!

Yes, yes, I finally got around to getting a craft project done, and the most amazing thing about it [besides the fact that I'm actually posting a craft project after so many months] is that my as of late reluctant crafters are still outside, crafting away.

I call this one "Fingerprint Balloons" and I totally ripped it off of Pinterest. You can check out the original craft here. It's pretty self explanatory...you just dip the tip of your finger in paint, and print it on your paper. Then, with a fine-tipped marker, draw a bunch of balloon strings for your fingerprints. You can even attach them to an object like a bicycle, a person, a penguin, or a house ala UP.

The hardest thing about this project was getting the sticky price tag off the frame for the poor quality photo op.

Happy Crafting!

xo

nessa dee

cracker box

So the craft project is still in the works. Monday, perhaps? I know I've said this before, but I tend to get inspired, plan way to much for the week, and then sorely disappoint myself when I get about 10% of my to-do's done. This past week marked the end of our weekly homeschool cooperative, which is always a busy time. I volunteered to make some props for the play and, of course, had huge expectations [like Broadway will surely offer me a job as a set designer after seeing these puppies], but my imagination is much bigger than my abilities. Add to that, sick days, cheerleading camp, a freak cold front with major wind gusts, and a 9 month old, and I almost had to label the props so people could tell what they were. They were pretty bad, and I was praying that the boat I made would stay together long enough for its 60 second scene. It survived, I survived, and now I'm looking forward to this busy next week as we prepare for a quick trip to DC. It will be the first time flying for Mr. Gus, so if you have any tips, please share!

As for tips, I thought I'd share this nifty device I discovered while making props. If you have a baby, or small child, or perhaps a husband who looks like this when he eats:

Than this is the product for you!

 I call it the "Cracker Box," otherwise known as a crumb catcher!

Just look at all of that crumb catching capacity!

I know you're saying to yourself  "Why is this so special, Nessa? It's just a box."

But what looks like just a box is actually much, much more. With this product, there's no clean-up involved!

"But, how?" you might say if you kept talking to yourself.

The key to this self cleaning Cracker Box is in its unique design. The special open-ended box allows for easy access of any and all family pets and means that the crumbs are licked up almost as soon as they fall to the bottom:

Just set your baby/child/husband inside, hand them a cracker, and watch the Cracker Box do its job.

The Cracker Box keeps crumbs off your floor, crumbs off your rug, your baby happy, and your dog fed!

It's a win win situation!

The Cracker Box comes in small, medium, and husband sizes and is available anywhere you can find a box. Those who have a Cracker Box should be aware that use might  result in an impromptu tongue bath 

 Dog not included.

xo

nessa dee

Another robot...

 I might have a little obsession with robots. 

This particular guy is for a little project I'm working on that hopefully it will lead to an even bigger project.

Only time [and a lot more effort] will tell.

xo

nessa dee