Hausfrau's Family Vacation

The girls and I came back yesterday afternoon after a marathon 10 hour drive from central New Jersey. Unlike the last trip that I made with the girls alone, it went much more smoothly. First of all, I didn't take long stops to eat meals and let them run around. We only stopped to get gas and go to the bathroom. That alone shaved two hours. Also, I brought tons of food items that I could throw in the back of the car, none of which was fruit. No poopin allowed when Hausfrau is driving 620 miles in one day. The best thing I brought for the trip was for me. Foam ear plugs. Seriously. While I could still hear Peaches screaming, it took the edge off. Buy them on your next roadtrip. You'll thank me for it.

At any rate, we had a fabulous time on vacation. Herr and I drove separately out to New Jersey last Saturday. He was starting his new job on Monday. When we drove out, we each had a girl in our respective vehicles. THAT is the best way to travel. No fights, Peaches doesn't cry, and Baby Girl quietly watches movies the entire time. However, it's not the most practical way to travel (and quite wasteful if you aren't being reimbursed for milege on one of the cars).


We spent the weekend in New Jersey at our friends' house. On the way out to their house, we decided to stop by the new house in Bethlehem, PA so that Baby Girl could see what "her" new house is going to look like. I haven't discussed the new house purchasing ordeal on my blog for several reasons. First of all, it is boring to everyone. Secondly, part of me is still pretending that I am not actually leaving Ohio because I dread what a pain in the ass it will be. Thirdly, I hate the house we bought. HATE IT. It is everything I didn't want in a house, yet we now somehow will own it on August 4th. And it is all my fault. Basically, I gave up my fight to buy another house. It is embarrassing for me to admit that I have apparently lost all the fight in me. The house we bought was one that we laughed at and made fun of when we saw it. We nicknamed it, "The Groovy House." And it is. So.Very.Groovy. And not in the Austin Powers kind of way. It is a house that we will have to completely update, which we didn't want since we have two circus freaks for children. At this point I need to just accept what has happened and move on.

At any rate, we drove past the house and stopped. And I looked at it. And I looked at it. And I took off my sunglasses and looked at it again. Apparently we originally saw the house when the trees were shading it just right and we had our sunglasses on. Otherwise, we would have noticed the FIRST TIME that the house we are in the process of purchasing is PINK. A muted pink, yes, but pink all the same. Of course I went ballistic with Herr and he tried to calm me down by saying that maybe the "siding is dirty." That was so not the right answer. So now we currently have a topic that is off limits for the two of us to discuss. However, Baby Girl is THRILLED. Especially in light of a previous conversation.

I left on Monday with the girls to go to Maine for the week. We have friends who live north of Portland on Casco Bay and we try to get up there whenever we can. Our friends have five children, so my girls have constant playmates, which is awesome. Joe was out of town, so Jen and I spent the week getting ready for a party they were throwing on Saturday. We also spent time shopping for shoes, getting pedicures, eating lunch at Gritty's, and watching a marathon session of Project Runway. When it wasn't all about us, we took all the kids to the beach near their house, which is private and secluded. The girls had so much fun.


















Herr drove up to Maine Friday night and we ate a huge dinner from Montgomery Inn. Herr ordered a dinner for four to be shipped to us so that he could spread the word about his favorite barbeque place in the world. Saturday was spent preparing for the party, which ended up being a fantastic time. There were about 60 adults and probably the same number of children at the party. They had a band, which couldn't have made Baby Girl more happy. She is all about dancing. So she did. A few parents came up and commented that she probably would have been a Dead Head had she been born 30 years earlier. She was quite the hippie vision in her bare feet and batik sundress.

On Sunday, Herr and I drove separately again back to New Jersey. Herr will be staying with our friends for the next three weeks until I come out there August 3. I miss him horribly, but I am grateful that he is back with his old company, doing what he likes to do. I will be spending the next few weeks tying up loose ends here in Ohio. And calling painters for estimates to paint the siding on a certain pink house.