Triangle Mamas

Friday Roundup, the sixth one

One thing I'm liking about the Friday Roundup is that we always know we'll have a post at Triangle Mamas at least once a week now! We tend to be very busy women, you know. Here is what we've been up to this week:

We are keeping fingers and toes crossed that everything with Andrea's home buying and selling delicate dance works out perfectly for her.

Elections are coming up, and Ilina is already reminding people to vote on or before November 2nd. Even if you don't like her "Friendly Neighborhood Liberal" sticker.

A few weeks ago, we welcomed Kelly's beautiful new baby girl to the world. This week, Kelly is writing about life with two.

The Wake County School Board practically imploded on itself this week. It's no surprise that members of the new majority turned on each other. They haven't exactly demonstrated the ability to play nice with others thus far. Don't take my word for it though, Cyndi has a much more eloquent reaction over at My Convertible Life.

I love a woman who is willing to share her tricks to success. Abby is just such a woman. Recently, she shared the secret to great painted furniture, and this week, she is giving some tips on capturing great pictures of your little one.

Melissa has some beautiful pictures up of her recent trip to the Biltmore House. Happy 10th Anniversary to Melissa and Daddy Roo!

Sue has a heartfelt thanks for the support of good friends. It's a great reminder that I should do the same. 

As for me, I'm chatting about anatomically correct crayon drawings of my two year old. Boys do love their penises, don't they?

How about you? Are you going to the State Fair this weekend? What's new with you?

Friday Roundup 2

It may have been quiet around here this week, but our bloggers have been busy at their own sites. I hope you have a moment to click through and check out what they have been up to!

Remember Abby's no-good-terrible-awful run of refrigerator luck? Yeah. That didn't really end. It wasn't enough to just spoil TWO rounds of food and meals, it had to go and beat her up too.

Cyndi celebrated her ninth anniversary with her wonderful husband this week. She spent some time considering naming conventions; who takes whose name, what happens when you take each other's names, and what do the kids do with all of those names later on in life?

Erin is proving her talents in marketing by renaming the hilariously ill-named new double stroller from Bugaboo. Let's just say that they might should check our her resume before they launch any new products. Also, maternity overalls. With hooker heels. Oh my.

Many congratulations to Andrea for her first post as a regular contributor to WRAL's GO Ask Mom! blog as their faith blogger. She had a guest post earlier this summer, and they obviously liked it since they've invited her to come on for a monthly column. GO check it out!

I love it when Ilina dons her cape and takes on the world. Especially the food industry world. And most especially the disgusting bastardization of the Bento lunches that can be so incredibly cute (and no, that link isn't to a Triangle blogger, but could you just DIE from the cuteness of those healthy lunches?). She's on it, peeps, and you should take a listen.

Just how many bags do you have in use right this very moment? Mel's are taking over her home and car. I have to admit, since I pledged never to carry another bag that wasn't made by Holly Aiken or myself, I have gotten a pretty good handle on my bag issues.

Sue has questions. I know you have answers. Hop on over to Motherhood and Me to leave a comment about how you balance your online life in your real life. I haven't left a comment, because has I've demonstrated this year, I suck at it. If my real life gets busy, I just ditch the internet completely. *Ahem* poor neglected Triangle Mamas blog *Ahem*

And me? Well, I finally got my piano moved into our new studio space. That may sound kind of boring, but I assure you, you WANT to click over and see the pictures of the incredibly GIANT man in black who shouldered the main weight of my 900 pound piano up a flight of stairs. It was amazing. Terrifying, and amazing. 

The most wonderful news we have is that Kelly had a beautiful baby girl. Welcome to the world, Stella Quinn. We are so happy you are here.

How about you? What have you been up to this week?

Go On, Get Out There!

By Kelly

This past weekend the family & I ventured out on our first camping trip. It was supposed to be Mother's Day weekend, but a stomach bug postponed the trip. My hubby & I had been anxiously awaiting this trip, and had talked for a few years now about when the right time would be to take a rising 3 year old - we could not have timed it better!

For starters, we are huge fans of the NC State Parks system, and now that you are able to make reservations online & via telephone, instead of "first come, first served," it makes planning that much easier. We selected Hanging Rock State Park for it's proximity from our home (less than 2 hour drive west) & the activities. They have plenty of well appointed family campgrounds & very easy access to water, bath houses, hiking trails, etc. For those that are feeling a bit more inclined to stay closer to the indoors, they even have cabins to rent!

We have always been avid "outdoors people," with our most recent trip to the Canadian Rockies being a 5 day ultralight backpacking excursion. This trip was a serious change of pace, and a real luxury when it comes to camping - coolers, air mattresses, real food (not the dehydrated variety) - this preggo was in heaven ;)

All in all, the trip was a total success with just the right mix of downtime & adventure. After heading to bed fairly late Friday night, Wyatt slept until 8:15 on Saturday morning! Slept through all of the other kids at the campground riding around past the site on their scooters & bikes, and the early morning sounds & smells of campfires & breakfasts being made. A hike lasting a few short miles on Saturday to a waterfall kept us busy, as well as story time up at the Hanging Rock Visitor's Center. Of course there was plenty of time set aside for enjoying a campfire, as well as roasting first marshmallows.

No matter what your level of camping/outdoor experience is, I think anyone would enjoy a camping trip to one of the awesome State Parks in our system. Here are some tips I can share after going with a toddler (as a side note, I have not been paid to mention any of these products - they were just what we found to be useful!):

1) Get them their own flashlight - we selected one that was both a lantern & a flashlight. This way, we had the ones we needed, then he had his own to play with all night. We also grabbed a few glow sticks from the dollar bin, which were both entertaining & can serve as a night light in the tent.
2) We purchased a family tent that divides into 2 rooms, which definitely made it easier for all parties to sleep through the night. Wyatt knew we were right next door, but we didn't have to feel like we were right on top of each other. The tent we selected has plenty of room for more than one child on each side, plus each side had it's own door making it easier for Mom & Dad to come to bed after everyone else was asleep without disturbing them.
3) The other purchase we loved for the trip was a kid's Aerobed. Wyatt is still not in a bed, but even so, this mattress has 4 inch sides to it, so throughout all the tossing & turning each night (and there was plenty of it) he never rolled out onto the ground. It came with a fleece sheet, so all he needed was a blanket over top, or even just some warm footed PJ's this time of year in NC. I am already looking forward to using the bed again on vacations & hotel trips.
4) Although being away from all the things we rely on everyday - cell phones, PDA's, Internet, TV, etc - it was such a nice break for us. Wyatt absolutely loved all the undivided & uninterrupted attention from Mom & Dad, as any child would. We were also able to put him to task on quite a few things that he seemed to find pretty rewarding - finding different sized sticks to help with the fire, holding the tent stakes for Dad, helping hammer in the tent stakes & most importantly how to roast a good marshmallow.

Here are some favorite pics from the trip - I hope it inspires you to get out & enjoy the great outdoors with your little one(s) this spring & summer!

 
 
 

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When Kelly isn't spraying on bug spray in the great outdoors, she can be found blogging about her toddler adventures at Monkey Man.

Bliss in the Bull City

by Kelly

Unlike most people that I know in the Triangle, I can say that I spent most of my life growing up here, in Chapel Hill to be exact.  It’s often hard to believe that it was 23 years ago that my family picked up all it’s “Yankee” roots & headed down here from Connecticut.  So, you can imagine how surprised I was when I met my now husband & found out that not only was he a Durham, NC native, but his parents were as well – a rare find in this area.

Needless to say, I was a footloose & fancy free teenager finishing her first year of college at East Carolina University when I met my husband.  We were both eighteen, but he was just graduating high school.  It was during the summer of 1996 that we dated & both had what we thought would be a “summer fling,” if you will.  I’ll admit, my friends were a bit skeptical upon meeting Seth – growing up in NC he was a bit of a clean cut, country boy, and not the typical guy I might have dated.   I was very much a “wild child,” with an unusual sense of fashion, a love of jam band music & a fondness for grungy boys.  But, something about this guy was different & 13 years & one child later I couldn’t be happier.  We often refer to ourselves as ‘Dharma & Greg’ – the years have changed us a bit, but my husband it still the picture of maturity & responsibility, while I am still very much a dreamer & a kid at heart.

He is the reason that we now live in Durham, and that I have such a love & appreciation for NC.  A common thread between us is a love of the great outdoors – camping, hiking, backpacking, boating, cycling – we have experienced the best that NC has to offer. While we have not gone camping yet with our 2 ½ year old son Wyatt, we talk about it often & wonder which favorite spot in NC we will revisit with him in tow.  Living in the Triangle allows you to get to the Smoky Mountains or the Crystal Coast with the ease of a 3-4 hour trip.  Couple with that the fact that our closest friends, my sister, brother, parents & in-laws all live within 15 minutes of us, and we rarely complain about not getting a night to ourselves.

When Kelly is not reminiscing about her college days, she can usually be found chasing after her toddler son Wyatt, and blogging about it at Monkey Man, if she hasn't run out of steam at the end of the day.

Halloween 2009, Triangle Mamas Style

In no particular order, here are some of the adorable children of the Triangle Mamas.

This is Abigail in her mama's German dirndl from when she was two.  NIkki says, "I like to think of this as her dramatic reenactment of Gretl's 'So Long, Farewell' exit in The Sound of Music."

Here are Juni and Pip, Cyndi's little ones. Buzz Lightyear here even had "Andy" written on the bottom of his shoe. Very authentic.

What might have been a dragon on the hanger became a dinosaur on Linus. Abby's little man was rawry scary.

From our newest Triangle Mama, Kelly, whose inaugural post will be live Wednesday, we have Mr. Wyatt.

Little Bird was a Little Bear for the day. Marty and her sewing machine pulled off a handmade Halloween again this year, but only with a couple of hours to spare.

Cindy's little dino was so excited, she had the costume on in Target the day they were picking it out.

 

Ilina had a handmade Halloween too. Here is Super Deal and Ninja Bird in all their glory.

Welcome to fall, y'all. Bring on the turkeys and the trees!