A Not-So-Wild-Goose-Chase

This afternoon I ventured off to Braintree to the Baby Furniture Warehouse with the kids to test out the Phil and Ted Sport Buggy. Well, stupid Mommy should have checked their hours before hopping in the Traverse with both kiddies strapped in the back. Not a soul in the parking lot and the sign on the door read, "CLOSED Tuesday and Wednesday." BUMMER.

So, what now? Go check out the bakery at Konditor Meister? Go to Bernie & Phyl's? Nah, let's hit us SSP!

First, we waved to the Easter Bunny from afar. "Em, you wanna go sit on his lap and get your picture taken? NO THANKS!" Ok then, let's go to Nordstrom, which just opened last Friday! The new wing of the SSP also has 30 new stores opening very soon! IT looks nice and smells good, but not as good as my new car smell :)

So first, Emily helped me pick out some new lipsticks from my favorite counter, MAC! It's too bad I didn't bring all my empty make-up containers. Did you know that MAC recycles and will give you a free lipstick for every 6 "empties" you bring back? Pretty good deal!

Nymphette Lip Glass and Amorous!

Then we went to the children's department. This is where Mommy made her first clothing purchases for baby Stow #3. I just couldn't resist. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you know the sex of your baby? BUY THINGS? Well, I just had to purchase these adorable baby boy things and take advantage of knowing what I'm having this time around. Otherwise, what's the point, right?

Summer Baby Needs Nautical Cuteness for the Beach!

ADORABLE!

Might wear this one home from NWH!

And every baby needs a lovey from Bunnies-By-The-Bay!

I didn't have much luck shopping for Aidan's Easter outfit at Nordstrom. Janie and Jack didn't have the right size either. So we finally picked up a cute one at Gymboree. So excited for sleeveless dresses, shorts and short sleeves on Easter Sunday!

Big Boy Madras!

Daddy met us for dinner at the mall and we opted for dinner in the food court-quick, painless and home in time for Charlie Brown's Easter special. On the way home, we hit 1000 miles in the Traverse! EXCITING, right? Yup, I took pictures.

The Polar Express

A good friend of mine at work informed me of the Blackstone Valley Polar Express ride, which is a magical 90 minute ride on the Providence Worcester railroad at Christmastime. I knew other friends who did this up in North Conway, NH, but it's super expensive and a long way to go. So why not try it out in our neck of the woods in Cumberland, RI.?

Good friend informed me today that tickets just went on sale. So tonight I logged on and bought our tickets. We opted for their last weekend, which is the first weekend in December. Hard to believe Emily will have just turned 5! WOW! But it sounds like such an exciting adventure for the littles. They have a sing along, are served milk and cookies, sneak a peak at Mr. and Mrs. Claus, receive bells and listen to the story of The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg. Tickets are already selling out, so log on if your interested and purchase NOW! I'm so glad I got wind of this today. The littles will LOVE IT! (All 3 of them!!!)

Hilarious!

DVDs for Disney

So, Emily hasn't seen any of the classic princess movies yet, which seems quite fitting for the 2 day journey we we are about to embark on. Nothing like getting pumped up for WDW with all the classic movies! Mommy needs to put together a list of DVDs to have on hand for the ride! Emily has only seen The Princess and the Frog in the movie theater, so I guess it's a good thing that we have a lot of options. We already have The Sound of Music and Emily LOVES it. So I'm thinking Mary Poppins is a must. Poor little Aidy baby gets sucked into anything she likes to watch. But we're gonna need a lot of movies on hand, not just Max & Ruby! Ok, bring on the suggestions for a 4 year old! And hey, if you want to loan us any for the week, we'd gladly take them off your hands! Any and all tips for keeping us happy and upbeat (especially Mommy and Daddy) for 2 days in the Traverse is also appreciated. Thank God, it's gonna be a luxurious, comfy ride! Lots of food and snacks, I know that! If only I could have a huge glass of wine upon arrival...

Traversin' it to Tiverton

We took off to Tiverton in the Traverse this weekend for a visit with Grandma and Grandad. Hadn't been since January! Since the weather was so beautiful, we took advantage of the air conditioning and the sun roof!!! Felt so good to drive with the windows open! Mommy and Daddy fought for the seat behind the wheel! Mommy won!

The kids totally dig the comfy ride! Watching a little Max and Ruby on the DVD player doesn't hurt either!

The Traverse looks good in Rhode Island!

Mommy and Emily in downtown Newport.

We enjoyed our boat ride with Save the Bay and we did see some seals.

Emily liked using the binoculars...
...it was a bit WINDY!

"I see one with his feet in the air!"

We saw the Newport Bridge up close.

Then on Sunday morning Daddy drove to Grinnell's Beach.

Fun on the slide at the beach.

Grandma and Grandad enjoyed their first ride in the Traverse to Aidan's Pub over in Bristol for lunch. It was Emily's first ride in the third row - with Grandma too!

Yummy lunch outside.

Grandma had a Strongbow.

Mommy had a lemonade and enjoyed the awesome sunshine.

The swings in the little park by the pub.

Aidan loved looking at all the fishing boats.

Sadly it was time to pack up and head home. The kids put their headphones on and enjoyed some Sesame Street songs in their PJ's. What a way to kick off spring! If only you knew what was going on at Grandma's on Saturday night as the littles tried sleeping in the same room together for the first time. Mommy was ready to go sleep in the Traverse.

Phil & Ted's HELP!

Seeing as the family is expanding and the big Disney trip is on the horizon, I am frantically trying to decide which of the many Phil & Ted's inline buggies suits the Stow family best. I must say, I am not too impressed with their website, as it lacks a comparison of the inline strollers and all seem to have the same function/description. (Some have 4 wheels, some have 3) Baby Whiz seems to have the best description of the various set ups. Emily is certainly past the point of stroller riding, but at Disney, that's another story. My girl is TALL and 47 pounds, so we need something substantial that provides comfy riding in and around the Magic Kingdom. But then when the little man arrives in a few months, we'll need a stroller that can accommodate both Aidan & little newborn brother. The Sit N Stand is pretty terrible for walks. It's basically a "take to the mall only" stroller. I hate how bulky and long it is and I hate the steering. Looking for something sturdy and easy to push on major get-back-in-shape walks in September - Fast walking, serious walking, miles of walking. So which Phil & Ted's do you have? And which one would you recommend for the Stow family? And believe me, this is not a cheap stroller. So help me make the right choice!!

A Perfect 10!

Today was a perfect 10. Beautiful, blue skies, warm breezes, short sleeves for Mommy! I had some time before picking Emily up from preschool, so I rushed over to Stride Rite and got the kids some awesome new spring kicks. So much easier to do that SANS kids! Plus, you gotta love buy one, get one half off!

Came home to the boy and we snacked on THE BIGGEST strawberries I have ever laid my eyes on. They were huge. Totally blog worthy! I know you can't really tell from the photos, but the strawberries on the bottom are your average sized ones. These babies were the size of my palm/half the size of Aidy's head! NO JOKE! GIGANTIC! And very juicy! Thank you Stop & Shop!

Mmmmm!

We spent most of the afternoon outside in the sun. It felt so good out there! We'll let the photos do the talking.



I love my brother!

Chasing Em's bubbles!


Since Daddy is at some sort of moot court acting as a judge at Suffolk tonight, we decided on Friendly's for dinner. Yum!
I love ketchup!

"What's our server's name again?"

"Do it myself!"
Chocolate Cone Head!

Then it was bath time and bed! I had them both in bed and asleep by 7:15pm! Love days like these! Nothing like running around outside in the sun to tire them out!

Like I said, a perfect 10!

Oh, and anyone looking for something to do in town tonight, check out my brother's band, "COUSIN JOHNNY" at Copperfield's tonight. Tonight's the night they unveil their big CD! Wish we were going! Bang those drums, Jim!

Family Fun on the Bay

Since the forecast calls for sunny skies and 70 degrees on Saturday, we've finally made the call to Newport to reserve our seats for the seal cruise in Naragansett Bay. I had no idea we even had seals swimming in our seas in the winter! Time is running out, so it's one of the last chances this year to check it out. We plan on driving down to see Grandma and Grandad on Saturday morning in Tiverton and taking off to Newport from there. The boat departs from Bowen's Ferry Landing, right in the heart of Newport. Kids five and under are free! So if you're looking for something fun to do with your family this weekend, check out their schedule at Save the Bay. They do one hour seal tours and two hour seal tours that include a lighthouse tour in the bay. Maybe we'll go a bit early and grab lunch at the Brick Alley Pub, one of my favorite places to eat out from my early days at Salve. They have the BEST burgers! Come back soon for a look at our photos of our day on the bay!