I Should Have Known...

something was up when I walked into the bathroom during naptime and saw this--

Curious, I turned to walk to Oliver's room and was greeted by a smiling two-year old who declared he was done with naptime (after 30 minutes). Apparently, playing in the bathroom is much more fun.

What to Wear?

It's prom x4 at our house.  I have always had this shallow clothing and shoe fetish, so what could awaken the beast than a good horse race?
I realize there should be other pressing matters to occupy my time but since the weekend at Loon Lake with Bryan and Sue, a lot of my thoughts are about what we should wear to the horse races. We are all attending the Virginia Gold Cup horse races and one night at the lake house, Sue and I began plotting our outfits.

You see, horse racing is a fashion event with its own set of standards. Don't believe me? Google it. Find out for yourself.  There are even blogs dedicated to the fashion at the race in Virgina with photo after photo of fashionable attendees. Who would have thought it would be so easy to get sucked into the fashion of horse racing?

The first consideration for women is the hat. Wear a hat or not? There are a LOT of websites dedicated to hats for horse races. A LOT! A TON! On these hats for horseracing sites you can even find out which hat best suits your face. Should you wear a fascinator, a short brimmed hat, a tall hat or a wide brimmed hat? It depends on the shape of your face, the width of your shoulders and how tall you are. I found out I can wear just about any shaped hat I want. Could I really pass up this opportunity? ANY HAT SHAPE? There was a whole world of hats for horse races to explore and Sue and I only touched the tip of the iceberg that night.

In my "research" I read that the fashionable hat at last year's race was the fascinator, probably because the races were just after the royal wedding. This year, the weather is expected to be warm, possible rain but some sunshine. The horse-racing fashionistas are calling for wide-brimmed hats.
Lucky for me it was my first hat choice. I'm of the philosophy, "Go big, or go home." The bigger the better. I became a lady on a mission for a wide brimmed hat with cute grosgrain ribbon and one obnoxiously large flower.
Of course, in all my "research" I discovered that it is debatable whether you should have the dress before the hat or vice versa. I thought I knew which side of the argument I was on. I had the dress already hanging in my closet...

all I needed to do was find the over the top hat to go with it. But, then you see all these hats, and that one is oh so cute but wouldn't match the dress, and you begin to rethink the whole thing. Should I have picked the hat before the dress? Before I rushed out for a personal shopper, I just had to make a decision. So I went with the original hat I saw for the original dress.

 

And, it arrived in its own hat box. Squeal! I was done. My outfit is planned and complete.

If it were only so easy for the rest of the family.

Tuesday morning, Matt wakes up and says, "What do I have to wear to this race? Do I have to look nice?" I went on "red alert" for what should Matt wear to the races. Wednesday morning I scoured his closet and then searched the upstairs attic. I needed help in finding something preppy for the hubs to wear. One shop popped in my mind---

Oliver and I got in the car and drove to the nearest store. Upon entering we were greeted by the nicest ladies who helped plan it all out. One entertained Oliver and the other put together outfit ideas for me to look at. They were all so nice, I had to go the whole hog and ask them to find outfits for the kids. Can we say SUCKER? This time they SQUEALED with delight.

Matt's outfit--seersucker shorts, green button down shirt and navy critter tie from their Derby collection. What luck they have a "Derby collection".

Chloe's outfit---I did have a plaid dress picked out but she turned up her nose. She'll be wearing a pink seersucker skirt, white polo, and plaid flip-flops. In my dream world she will not stain the shirt 5 seconds after putting it on.

Oliver's outfit-- Large gingham shirt, blue toddler bow tie (with fish print) and the critter shorts. Thank heavens he isn't old enough to tell me this is the most ridiculous ensemble and he won't be wearing it because I don't think it is. He can tell me that many years down the road when he is looking at his photo in the VV catalog.  In my dream world he won't rip the bow tie off and will keep it on.

They seriously were nice in the store (of course, why shouldn't they be when crazy woman and child let them have free reign on picking outfits for three people) and it was the best shopping experience in a store with Oliver ever. They demanded I take photos and send them to be on the website and catalog. They also requested I mail one to the store of Oliver so they can display it. Seriously nice ladies.

So now the outfits are complete and the stage is set. Lets see if we can do these clothes justice. I'll post photos after the event.

You Say It's Your Birthday...

well it's my birthday too!

Had a great birthday today (despite the kids getting into a huge fight in a department store while I was looking for apparel for Matt and later on in the evening when Oliver trashed the playroom).

All I have to say is, you know it is love when your husband signs you up for a wine of the month club and each month you get 12 bottles.

I also got lots of other goodies from my parents and the kids. But, in the spirit of the wine subscription, I have to share this photo (a friend posted it on FB tonight).

Braces Off!!

Tuesday was Chloe's big day, she got her braces off! She was so excited.

To celebrate, Chloe wanted some frozen yogurt with gummy bears on top--it seems she missed the forbidden gummies while she had her braces on.




She has to wear a retainer for the next 9 months but we think her teeth look great.

Committed

We're "ALL IN" as far as go-karting is concerned. Yesterday, we traded our old RV--

For a toy hauler RV-

Complete with living quarters and a garage to house the kart(s) and karting equipment.

I guess its official, we are totally committed to kart racing.

Karting Promotional

The following video is a promotional video for the karting track & for Tim, the owner, where Chloe races. She can be seen in it (look for her in the bright pink race suit and at the end in her cart) as well as Matt.

Loon Lake

We spent the weekend with our friends, Bryan & Sue, at Loon Lake in the Adirondacks of NY. The weather didn't want to cooperate, but we still had a fantastic time. Family time at a lake just relaxing with friends is great.

Oliver made Saturday a "pantsless day" refusing to wear pants for much of the day until we insisted he couldn't go down to the lake without them.

Finally, Oliver wears pants and assists Bryan by "carrying" the oar to the kayak.

This is oh so Oliver.

Waving from the shore to Daddy & Chloe on Loon Lake in the kayak.

Chloe takes a feel of the water...it was cold.

Oliver's turn. He sat very still and enjoyed his kayak ride with Daddy.

Everybody out on the lake now.

Matt, Chloe & Oliver in the kayak.

Oliver skipping stones in the lake with his godfather, Bryan.

Oliver could skip stones for hours.

Chloe & Bryan finding good sticks for a outdoor fire.

The rain and cold crept in Saturday afternoon and we spent the rest of the weekend indoors.

The Garden

While my Dad was here, I took advantage of this "green thumb" to plant the garden. Its been unseasonably warm so I decided to plant the garden well ahead of the mid-May end of frost date. If we do get below freezing one night, I can easily tarp the garden to protect the plants.

Dad tilled the soil and we added humus and cow manure. We then planted three tomato plants, a banana pepper, basil and onions. Dad also planted some radish seeds (yum!). I also added some sunflower seeds at the end of the garden to make it especially pretty.

It was  nearly 90 degrees on Monday so I felt inspired to plant some flowers. The pots that look barren are planted with bulbs or seeds. I purchased some seeds at the Dallas Arboreteum and thought I would give growing flowers from scratch a shot.

My hanging basket. Love lobelia!!

What I Learned on a 3700 Mile Road-Trip

1. It's always nice to have another adult person on a long trip with you. Thanks Dad for flying from Dallas to NYC and then driving back to Dallas with us (and then repeating the trip).

At a rest stop in Tennessee.

2. It's a shame that states are closing rest stops. There is so much safe, green space that the kids could expend their built up energy at a rest stop. You can't have your kids run, chase, cartwheel and ride their bike in the fast food parking lot.

3. You can drive 8 hours with both kids WIDE awake. Thirty minutes before you arrive at your destination they will BOTH fall asleep and be grouchy because you have to wake them.

4. Staying at hotels can be fun, especially if the hotel has an indoor pool. It also makes for a fun time if the hotel is over-booked and upgrades your standard room to their most expensive room---The Presidential Suite.

The Porter Wagoner Presidential Suite at The Opryland Hotel. We got upgraded, just a little.

After the first night on the road, Oliver refused the pack 'n play and slept in bed with Chloe and I.

5. Its impossible to use cruise control on highways anymore.

6. People have forgotten that the left lane is for passing and not just cruising along.

7. To see anything interesting, you have to take a few detours off the interstate. 

8. Its always fun to take a detour and make a mini-family reunion out of a long trip.

9. The iPad is heaven sent in a long car ride.

10. Having your shoes on for 7 hours in a car and then taking them off and placing your smelly, sweaty feet on the side of your mother's seat STINKS!

 11. You see a few things that make you scratch your head and give you pause.

This was at a rest stop located just over the Alabama border, not too far from the location where three civil rights workers were murdered in the 1960s. Flying above this concrete declaration was the U.S. flag, the state flag as well as a variant of the Confederate flag. I didn't find it welcoming.

12. When the iPad battery dies and you let your upset two year-old play with your iPhone, you end up with 156 photos on your phone similar to this....

13. You decrease the flying insect population. Unfortunately, you have to stop frequently to clean your windshield and it takes some scrubbing to remove the carcases from your front bumper.

14. Kids will happily get in a car for a 90 minute drive after riding three days from NJ to TX if it means they get to go fishing at PaPaw's farm.

2nd Round of Club Racing

We left Texas a day early so we could make it back for the club go-kart races on Sunday. PaPaw was able to attend with us and see Chloe compete.

Chloe's times are really improving and she had a best lap time of 58 seconds. She's having fun and improving and we are proud of her.

Oliver enjoying race day in the RV. We moved the RV to the racetrack, where it will now stay. Its nice to be able to sit in the RV, chill out and let Oliver nap instead of sitting in the bleachers all day (or the car).

Chloe's kart (on the stand) in the paddock.

Oliver ready to race. He managed to find the toy car with the same race number as his sister.

Matt, Chloe's mechanic, preparing the kart.

On the track.

PaPaw and Oliver talking to some "fans" while Chloe raced kid karts.

There were only two karts in Chloe's class this week. The number of kids racing in the kid kart level is supposed to increase once school gets out in June.

Chloe getting her 2nd place trophy at the awards ceremony.

Tim gave Oliver and honorary 3rd place trophy and a place on the podium--I think he's expecting some big things from Ollie in the next few years.

The OVRP Kid Kart top 3.

After the awards ceremonies were over--I think Oliver felt he deserved 1st place.

Chloe wanted some more lap time after the day was over. She went back on track with her Dad looking on. That's one proud papa.