.....shiverin' shamrocks.....

.....St. Paddy's Day has certainly changed for me over the years.....my youngest brother has been in Chicago this weekend posting pictures of the green river and the party pics of crazies celebrating ruthlessly all weekend.....that certainly is not my life.....

......our NYC friends still managed to join the festivities of the parade.........snow, frost, freezing temps and all, they weathered the winter conditions in what should be blossoming spring weather.....the NYC St. Paddy's Day parade is not one to be missed and I can truly tell you that if we still lived there, we would have been doing the Irish jig rain, snow, sleet or shine.......

....a quick flashback to last year when I lugged the three of them to 5th Ave.....please don't let the picture fool you, we were not a happy group for a large portion of the day.......but as I just stated, not many things would cause us to miss the parade.......

.....I digress......

....this year, we had too much going on to pop into Manhattan, so we made it a local weekend and embraced the fact that winter is still here.......

.....Brody had his first pedicure, but let's not sing that from the rooftop to Daddy.....Stefan is already quite concerned this house is too girly......

......I prepped some meals for the week with my favorite chefs......

......ignore the pink apron......

.....and we have casually started trying out the potty with the one I still refer to as, the baby.....

.....clearly, he is not a baby anymore and please disregard the pink potty seat and the pink trash can......

.....ok......Stefan has a point here......but at least he has a dinosaur book and not Cinderella.....

....although we are pining for warm weather and are envious of all our friends who have recently taken vacations in tropical locations, I find that if we embrace and accept; the final days of winter are not so bad......

....after all, my girls are able to experience skiing at a young age only 45 minutes from our house.......

....this Florida girl was not as lucky.....

.....it has been Stefan's dream to teach his children to ski.....he took them to the ski shop, sized them for boots and skis, bought them helmets and goggles and we were off.....

.....he was so excited to head to the mini mountain, he didn't even mind wearing my over sized shades when he left his behind......

.....yes, babe.....the men in this house are definitely surrounded by everything girly......

....the girls loved it....

....I would play with Brody and one girl in the snow, while Daddy gave his lesson and then we would break for a snack and the other one was off for her turn......

.....neither of the girls complained about any of their gear.......their boots didn't hurt after wearing them for a few hours, toes stayed warm and we managed to keep snow out of their mittens......everything we feared that would cause the experience to be a bust did not happen.....

.....and so we may turn into a winter lovin' family after all.....

.....Happy St. Paddy's Day.....

.....hope your weekend was full of appreciation for your here and now......

....pot 'o gold and a whole lot more.....

.....I love that the Irish dance, drink and feast on St. Patrick's Day......a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon on a picturesque NYC spring day......

.....I'm not going to say that getting to the parade was an easy trek.....my kick board is injured, making my stroller only a 2 passenger carrier, opposed to the 3 passenger carrier that we all have become accustomed to.....Stefan had to study all afternoon, so the kids and I had to figure out how we were going to make this day happen.....after many conversations, negotiations, bribing, tears and moments taken to regroup, we eventually made it......

.....and the parade is always well worth it......even if we did not have the best seats in the house, just hearing the bagpipes stirs enough emotion within me to soak in the festivity and to be thankful that I can walk to this happy place of people minutes from where I live.......

.....and earlier in the week, I felt blessed to be around this group of excited little people who all share our beloved tree lined street.....we had a small celebration in honor of the legend of the leprechauns......

.....our imaginary leprechaun friends left the little ones black pots and a playroom filled with hidden gold coins and lucky dollar bills......and they raced to fill their pots with gold.....

....and 144 coins are found in a flash when you have 12 sets of hands grabbing them from up high and down low.....so they spent the rest of the afternoon playing, laughing, running, hiding, and indulging in special treats......

.....so when the day of the parade arrived, my girls were well versed in St. Patrick's Day chatter.....this was going to be our last parade as NYC residents and I was going to get us all there even if it took a bit of extra effort.....

.....having good friends already at the parade was good incentive for two little girls who had to take turns walking......or in St. Patrick's Day terms, we had our treasure at the the end of our rainbow......the rainbow being our long and colorful hike to 5th Ave......our treasure being some of our favorites.....

....and isn't it always the days where maximum effort is required that turn out to be the most rewarding?.....the ones that will offer our children happy memories in their not so distant future.......the ones  that, for my girls, upon hearing a bagpipe; might ignite a smile at the faint memory of learning about the mystical instrument and seeing men in kilts at such a young age?......this was Elsie's fourth parade and Callie's third, after all.....

....at the day's end, after each St. Paddy's parade I have been to in our adored city, I lay down to sleep happy and full.....satisfied and secure......always a long day with many miles of walking to follow the celebration, I am physically worn; but it feels good......I am anxious of anticipation with spring around the corner......I am rejuvenated from the blissful weather, as the sun and warmer breezes always make me feel as if winter has moved past us.......I am tired from lifting babies and toddlers to see the sights of people dancing, laughing, playing music, wearing clever green costumes and celebrating with fervor and spirit.....

.....but I am elated and fulfilled from a day that delivered so much entertainment.......

.....Happy St. Patrick's Day.....

.....hope yours was quite the celebration....

.....March mishmash......

......March has awakened the senses......it's one of my favorite months in NYC due to the excitement of a new season around its corner.....too soon for cherry blossoms, it isn't the beauty of March that I hold so dear, but the anticipation of it.....restaurants try and lure guests outside when it still isn't quite warm enough to dine outdoors, the slightest warm front of 53 degrees will bring city dwellers out to walk their dogs in flip flops and on days like today, the sound of bag pipes surrounds our neighborhood as the sidewalks are cluttered with green cladded bar hoppers and festive excitement......

......our March has brought us birthdays, visits with old friends, spring cleaning, and one last bout of sick babes before spring is here to stay.......

......you would never know that this one was up from 12-4 am last night.....poor baby was shaking and trembling and having all sorts of the aches and pains that a 102 fever brings with its vengeance......and big belly and all, the two of us squeezed in her new toddler bed so I could stroke her hair and whisper to her that it was all going to be okay.....

.....and 12 hours later, the second sick visit to the doctor this week for my oldest girl and some good meds later, all is okay.......

.....and now I have my eye on my baby, expecting her to come down with it too.....

.......and since I can't fit in her crib, I will pull her in bed with us and whisper the same things and stroke her head the same way.....and I will love every minute of taking care of my girl.....

.......and it's a no brainer we are all a little worn out.....spring is around the corner and we have been busy bouncing from place to place......adjusting, like all of the other littles in this country, to going to bed when it's not quite completely dark out......so we made an exception and stayed up extra late for Daddy's birthday party.....

......which began early Saturday morning in the kitchen whipping up some blueberry muffins.....

......slurping up most of the batter before the baking even began......

......and I must say that Callie takes licking the bowl to a whole new level.....

.....as well as opening presents......just as she did on her own birthday, two weeks prior to Stefan's, she wanted to try on everything her Daddy opened.......

.....and since he got a good selection of vintage tees for spring, she had a heyday trying them all on.....

......but we girls thoroughly enjoyed honoring the man of the house.....he is certainly our prince charming around here and it endears me to see the man I love with the girls he loves......

.......and for another birthday weekend treat, Elsie and her Daddy had a date to see the play, Rapunzel.......she was so excited to go alone with her Daddy and asked me to help her get fancy for the occasion......

......she picked all of her attire out herself and I absolutely love the fact that my girl wanted to get dressed up for the most important man in her life.....it runs in the family, as my Mom just reminded me that my grandmother would freshen up every night before my grandfather came home from work.....not only was that a gracious and dignified way to greet her husband, but I'm sure it made my grandfather feel honored and significant.....so it makes me proud that my oldest one, by nature, wanted to get all decked out for her date with Daddy.....

.....she is her own person, far off from the baby that I remember just three years ago.....

......and although our new baby is not due until mid April, there is always the slight chance our little one could  spring an early delivery on us.....possibly follow in Callie's footsteps and surprise us three weeks early?......so we went and visited our good friends to gain a little practice with their newest addition, Theo......

.....and my friend, Heike was an inspiration......three babes in three years and she gives everything to her family.......and does it with kindness and good cheer......

......and speaking of cheer, we have been cheering on our newly turned two year old who has decided she wants to start using the potty......

.......and just as two year olds do, she likes to exert what she wants when she wants......this one has a strong will and lately, we have seen her apply it continuously.....

......like when I warned her three times that if she kept dumping her cup of water out onto the bathroom floor, her bath time would be over......sure enough, for a third time in a row, she dumped her cup of water onto the tile as she sweetly smiled at me.......so I quietly removed her from the tub, dried her, rubbed her down with her yummy lotion and dressed her in her PJs, confidently knowing that my silence was speaking for itself.....

......only two steps behind since I had to bend down to pick her wet towel off the floor, elevate the lotion to avoid a gooey mess that often happens when the girls find a bottle that was forgotten and round the corner to get Elsa out for her turn to get cozy, Callie greeted me in the bathroom emphatically telling me, baf time NOT ovfah yet!.......

.....I had to walk out so she wouldn't see me burst into laughter.....but on a serious note, Oh boy.....there will be some long days ahead......

......but if they are days like today, it will certainly make handling a strong willed two year old a lot easier.....because spring, the anticipation of spring and the beauty of the season has an airiness about it that seems to have a calming and restful effect on me.....being that this St. Paddy's Day was the first day in 2011 that we were able to leave the house without our coats, it was already an easier time getting out of the house without having to bundle up the girls.....and when they were ready to run free in Central Park, there wasn't the disrobing of accessories that can sometimes take the spontaneity out of jumping free from the stroller to run after the bird or squirrel that just scurried by......

.....it was fun, liberating for Elsie who claimed she can run faster without a coat and breathless for Callie who thrives on chasing park pigeons......

......and I watched them play, pick leaves, search for pine cones, laugh and giggle as sisters do.....and thanked God that all is good......

......and luckily we are not Irish because if we were, our ancestors would be pretty disappointed in our efforts to support our holiday through our fashion choices.......besides the green head bands, our pink shamrock socks and the pink and green tees from our Aunt Erica, that was the most festive I could get these two pink loving sisters on a day that bleeds green.....

......doesn't really look like a Happy St. Paddy's Day pic.......but that's okay too because it just adds to the light and breeziness of this time of the year.....it's all good....

.....and we are loving it.....