Someone learned how to open the front door today.

 And she made a break for it!

Mimi's Here!

 While Mr. R. was out of town last week, my Mom flew in to save the day. She arrived Wednesday ready to help out with bathtime, read Roar! Roar! Peekaboo 1,000 times (Pip LOVES that book!), do laundry, and keep me company. 

 We have been to the beach, the splash park, the pool, and the library for story hour.

 We are trying to enjoy and savor every minute of her time here. 

Two weeks goes by VERY fast. 

Little Cleaning Lady

Currently she likes to dance with the swiffer and stand on it. Her favorite new game is to try to stand/jump on the swiffer when I am using it to catch all the dust and dachsund hair on our floor. I am hoping to harness this new found curiosity in cleaning supplies to recruit a helper for my Saturday Cinderella routine.

Pillow Thief

 My grandparents got new pillows for their sofa and Piper loves them. Each time we visit she pulls the pillows down from the sofa, carries them into the family room, and places them in an arrangement known only to her. Then she proceeds to pose on her pillows. Sometimes she pretends to sleep, other times she goes through a series of what I call "running stretches", and other times she is just content to roll back and forth over each pillow until they conform to her level of comfort. I think if she could just distract us for long enough she would smuggle these pillows into her stroller and take them home. 

Ninja Date Night

Last week on our trip to the NJ shore Mr. R. and I took some time to stroll in and out of the boardwalk shops. My favorite shops are the t-shirt shops, not to buy, but to laugh at the funny sayings and learn what is in and what is out. We learned that apparently all things NINJA are in. Zombies seem to also be really big right now. Don't ask me why,  I am simply the messenger.

On etsy.com I saw this adorable ninja themed love note and thus the NINJA DATE was born.

I chose the easy route. I picked up chinese food from Panda express and I found a Ninja episode from the TV show Psych,  (season 5 episode 1). We ate our Chinese, made Ninja masks out of black t-shirts, practiced our best Ninja warrior poses, and then settled onto the couch to watch Psych. Pip was part of this date and happily snuggled between me and Mr. R. 

I like this date because it was quick and easy. Mr. R. needed to pack for his business trip and I had spent most of the day cleaning the house and doing laundry. There just wasn't time for a big elaborate date. Sometimes you just need a few minutes to reconnect and spend time together and takeout and a TV show works for us. Add a cute card or sweet note and I have just made my hubby's day. Trust me it's worth it!

Smoothie Kick

I have been drinking the green smoothie for breakfast a couple of time a week for a year now and by this summer I was just SICK of it. I hopped off the smoothie bandwagon in June and hadn't thought much about them since. But then, my grandfather had surgery a few weeks ago and had to be on an all liquid diet for one week.I decided to make him a few smoothies to break up the all liquid monotony. 

 Of course I made my green smoothie: one banana, one cup of spinach, one cup of frozen pineapples or mango, and 1/2 cup of orange juice (OJ). But I also branched out and tried a few new to me recipes. 

Blueberry Banana: one cup of blueberries, one banana, one 6 oz container of blueberry yogurt, one half to one cup of milk.

Mango Pineapple: one cup of frozen pineapple chunks, 1/2 cup of frozen mango chunks, one banana, one half to one cup of OJ

Wild berry: one cup of mixed berries, one cup strawberries, one 6 oz. strawberry yogurt, one cup OJ

Raspberry: one cup mixed berries, one cup raspberries (mine were frozen), one raspberry or mixed berry yogurt, half cup of OJ.

I have been drinking a smoothie everyday for breakfast since I tried these new recipes and I have to say I am in love the mango pineapple and the wild berry. I also add a scoop of protein powder to mine to make me feel full until lunch.  

Do you smoothie? If so what is your favorite recipe?

Shaddy Lady

 Not only does this girl love sunglasses, she wears her own, mine and Mr. R.'s. She has also become quiet shady in the figurative sense as well. She has discovered that her cuteness and desire for stories and snuggles can postpone bedtime. It's a good thing she is cute. 

Rockstar

She found the wii guitar last Saturday night and hasn't put it down since. We have known for a while that this girl loves music. She dances like a maniac anytime she hears a melody. Perhaps we have future Nancy Wilson on our hands?

Single Mama Status

Mr. R. spent last week in Washington on business. I dropped him off at the airport last Sunday morning and we missed him terribly until he returned yesterday afternoon. I wanted to make sure he knew how much we love him and would miss him while he was away so I took to pinterest for a few ideas. I ended up making Mr. R. a gift basket. I knew he would be working very hard while he was away doing trainings, meeting with the big wigs at his company and finishing up grad school work so I wanted to give him a few sweets to jump start his energy level. I picked up the candy at Walmart, made the notecards using cardstock, and wrapped & labeled each gift with the day he was to open it. Pip and I slipped them into his suitcase as a sweet surprise. It was the perfect long distance I love you. 

Show Off

Mr. R. and I try to take family pictures ALL THE TIME. And usually they don't turn out. One of us is usually looking the wrong way (Mr. R.), or one of us (me) is making a weird face, or Miss Pip is just refusing to stay still long enough for the camera flash. But, we did manage to take two cute photos last Sunday and now I am showing them off. 

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Gavin turned TWO last Saturday and we celebrated him in race car style, he loves cars. His Mom always throws the most adorable parties. She set up a backyard splash park for the kiddos complete with kiddie pools, crazy sprinklers, and a slip and slide. Piper had so much fun that she didn't want to leave.

 

A new family member

When we went to visit Mr. R.'s parents we were greeted by the newest Republican. She is 8 weeks old, covered in fur, and loves to chew on shoes. Meet Lily. 

 Piper wasn't sure what to make of this little ball of fluff. She did love playing with the puppy's new toys though.  

Woodstown Ice Cream

Mr. R. says that Woodstown, NJ has the best ice cream in the world.  Mr. R. took me here on one of our first dates. We have gone for a walk by the river and stopped by for two small vanilla custard cones on our way back to his parents house. And then after we were married, and living in DC, we would make sure to stop for an ice cream date when we drove to NJ to visit our parents in the summer. My order is always the same, small vanilla in a cup with rainbow jimmies and Mr. R. usually goes for a chocolate and vanilla twist cone or creamsicle cone. We decided that we couldn't be in NJ and not give Pip her first taste of frozen custard. On Saturday we made a special trip to Cream Valley and placed our orders. Pip is a big fan of jimmies, but I think her true love is the creamsicle cone. She is her Daddy's girl. 

Down Shore

If you are from New Jersey you already know that we call the beach our shore. And that you don't go to the beach, you go down shore. And if you are going down shore at night you are probably headed to the boardwalk. And if you are in Ocean City, NJ and going to the boardwalk you will most likely be eating pizza. Mac and Manco pizza that is. 

 After our days in DC were finished we continued North to New Jersey. Where both Mr. R. and I were born and raised. On Friday night we headed to Ocean City, NJ. Ocean City is featured in almost all of my childhood summer memories. It's were I built my sand castles, learned to swim in the ocean, learned to body board, and where Mr. R. and I kissed for the first time. The boardwalk is home to my favorite foods, pizza, caramel popcorn, and water ice. And it's also home to some many traditions, riding the kiddie coaster with my Dad, taking photobooth pictures with my Mom each Mother's Day, and visiting the Music Pier on Easter Sunday for the Easter Parade.

 Taking Pip to the Jersey Shore for the first time was the highlight of my vacation. I loved every second of our time on the boardwalk. I loved how much she loved the pizza. How excited she was to see all the lights and the people. I loved how she danced and clapped to the music of the amusement park rides and how she ran through the sand to the ocean with my Mom. 

It's official, the Republicans love OCNJ!