An Epic Spring Break in Peru.

We've been home from Peru for almost an entire week. I'm not certain I have recovered.

Both kids got their fingers smashed by the luggage carousel in more than one airport. They lost their minds on the 3 hour Bogota-Cusco flight, both directions. They were ejected from a Platinum lounge which was virtually empty (meaning the Colombian cleaning crew couldn't even stand them.) They both got some sort of stomach virus and lost the entire contents of their stomachs repeatedly. Skipped naps and acted terrible. Refused to eat anything but white bread and nutella for protracted periods of time. Refused to hike by lying flat on the ground with civil disobedience-style floppiness in their limbs. 

Ford threw the most epic fit I have ever seen in my life, screeching at the top of his lungs and flinging his face in the dirt and refusing to be touched or consoled in any way for more than an hour and several times tripping on the waistband of his own pants on the site of a heavily-touristed sacred Incan ruins.

They also got to ride horses. With no waivers, no helmets, no safety precautions of any kind.

They got to ride slides that were five stories tall.

Feed alpacas.

Act like this.

And this.

Jump in mud puddles.

Have epic picnics.

Traipse through ancient ruins.

Ride mountain bikes down breathtaking mountain valleys in borrowed pink helmets.

And meet the locals.

Sara and Daniel pulled out all the stops, and showed off all the best (in kid-friendly driving distance, anyway) that Peru has to offer. Like Humantay

and Palccoyo, where F+F had an epic meltdown in the snow at 17,000'.

But the views were totally worth it.

We couldn't have been more grateful for cousin time,

family time,

a long-overdue Sister Adventure,

and the remarkable opportunity to see my baby sister and witness firsthand the incredible, rewarding life she has built living her dream with her family in this stunning place.

Plus there was Miss time with kids. Always a huge hit.

There were way too many incredible photos to pick favorites, but a couple are of this burger,

this "Sound of Music" moment,

this wildlife encounter between Ford and his beloved "baby paca!"

And this classic photo bomb.

With airplane fits already fading into a pleasant haze, we're already counting down to our next adventure.

Snow Day Three Day Weekends.

We had a couple days of warm weather, in which we thought that spring might actually be on the way. And then a Nor'easter hit early Friday morning and brought everything to a standstill. This was our situation around 11, minus me in the corner frantically trying to check work emails before somebody beat somebody else with an egg-covered spatula.

I failed, by the way.

The storm was pretty ferocious, with hurricane-force winds. We lost power for long enough that I became very concerned about spending the weekend without heat or Elmo. I insisted on outside time anyway, which was clearly a resounding success.

We got a night of Finley's "greams" out of it, though, complete with a Ryan kid sleepover and sword fights and this playroom Superfund site.

Saturday I had to get out of the house so I took the kids hiking in Connecticut. On the way, Finley randomly projectile vomited all over herself and the back half of my car, which turned my day outside into the Purgatory at the Danbury Fair Mall.

Which began when I dragged two kids wearing nothing but coats and socks into Carter's for replacement clothes (note that Ford insisted on wearing one of Finley's new shirts) and went south from there.

But at least there was chik-fil-a. Which terrible Ford managed to hate.

Along with the carousel. 

We rounded out a windy, snowy weekend ice skating (from which I am still recovering since Ford insisted on getting a turn after Finley's lesson and was only happy doing lap after lap of this)

and an impromptu Oscars party (styling by F+F) on Sunday.

Funniest photo of the week has to be this one I snapped on Sally's doorstep, a perfect rendition of how F+F show up to a party. Finley is wearing a fancy dress and shoes with accessories (including the scarf she stole from Grandma and refuses to relinquish.) Ford is wearing Mickey Mouse PJs, his snow boots, and Finley's pink cat helmet. And they both brought snacks. Party.

Cheers to unplanned three-day weekends and the fact that we're starting to pack for Peru- we leave this Friday!

A Long Overdue Roomie Weekend.

Five years ago today, Bex and I shared the best little townhouse in the best little town in the South. It was quiet, it was orderly, it was always clean;  it saw a fair amount of wine drinking, from-scratch dinners, girls' nights, and trash TV. It was perfection. On more than one occasion, Bex noticed that I was out of my favorite yogurt and picked some more up at the store, unprompted. If either of us found someone else's clothes in the dryer and needed to use it, we folded them.

These days neither of us has a life that is quiet, or orderly, or includes discretionary TV watching. Not only does no one in my house but me do any grocery shopping whatsoever, the smallest members sometimes open an entire carton of my favorite yogurt and dump it on the floor. Just for no reason.

A roomie weekend was much, much needed. It reminded us that we will never have a living situation as idyllic as our old one again, but underscored that we are #soblessed. For real. Neither of us had any idea half a decade ago that we would have three perfect, healthy, funny, incredible little people to show for our overworked and sleepless troubles. Not to mention long-suffering husbands who are every bit along for the ride.

It was just bonus that our kids loved each other. Ford, out of nowhere, turned out to l-o-v-e Emma, and didn't leave her side all weekend. He kept chasing us waving her bottle and yelling "baby! bottle!" as if we were starving his little sidekick.

It was so reassuring that some things never change. It just takes less wine to put us in bed before midnight, and we have to hide it from our kids. And our Friday night entertainment consisted of riding plasma cars in the house, which I regretfully did not capture on film.

It was adorable, and the perfect ending to an ass-kicker of a four day week.




We did manage to squeeze in a Ryans Wednesday, something we will seriously miss when we leave West Point.

We survived ballet, even if Ford did "crash my class," according to Finley.



 Finley's ice skating debut went about as well as could be expected

and Ford was insanely jealous.

Ford's life isn't too terrible, his own assertions to the contrary. Here he is eating a cupcake with no pants on, which is basically my version of nirvana.

And this is what his father let him stubbornly insist on wearing to daycare on Thursday. If you guessed that that was Finley's raincoat and a beach hat, you are correct.

In addition to the photos with Baby Emma, which are priceless, two of my favorites from the week are this one, of Finley & Ford's typical morning. Breakfast and Sesame Street in Mom & Dad's bed. They are really living the life.

And this midweek special, of all the fun that can be had with an amazon box. We are never buying toys again, ever.