Camp Mommy: Irvine Nature Center

Sunday we attempted a family beach day at my favorite local spot, but for some reason everyone else in the entire state of Maryland had the same idea and my little beach was packed.

 Not a few extra people but packed shoulder to shoulder. I have been here so many times and it has never been this busy. It was so weird. We quickly packed the sad little crew back up in the run down van and went to a small quiet park to BBQ.

Dovie found this water spout and all was good in the world again. I will admit i was bummed and pouted a bit. I felt bad for the fail so on Monday i knew we needed to go somewhere fun.

 We decided on the Irvine Nature Center. I have heard about this place but have never been there. It is a local nature center that has an indoor and outdoor exhibits.

 The indoor exhibits have live animals ( including snakes, im so scared of SNAKES!!!), and interactive exhibits.

It has this outdoor playground all made of natural stuff like tree stumps. Actually there is a lot of tree stump type stuff. Totally reminded me of my hippie preschool. My kids loved the digging pits and the musical instruments.  Make sure to check their online schedule i think they close the playground sometimes for camps.

 I highly recommend the Irvine to the locals. You can pack a lunch and spend the day there. Be warned there is not much shade so pick a cool day, and wear good walking shoes. The trails are stunning!

 I wore these cute mustard color ballet flats that i LOVE, but feel like death traps on my feet. I regretted my choice the entire time. We plan to go back better equipped and spend longer time on the trails.

I did not realize this place was so great and wished i packed more snacks so we could stay longer. Rozie made a huge fit when it was time to leave.

As Camp Mommy continues i plan to blog about our favorite trips and places. I know this may be boring for the non-locals but i hope i can keep you guys with the pictures.
* Yes Rozie has a huge cut on her bottom lip. She fell on Shabbos and hit a concrete step. It was horrible i almost called Hatzalah, but B'H it looks worse than it is and she stopped crying and was back to running around within minutes of the fall. I was traumatized for the rest of the night.

Camp Summer!

Summer is officially here, and anyone who has read through this blog knows that i am in HEAVEN. Give me hot, give me muggy, give me hot and muggy and i will take it without one complaint. We have been so busy these last two weeks that i have officially neglected MyShtub. Camp mommy has started and with all three kids home i dont have that quiet computer time i use to have when Rozie napped, Dovie was in Cheder, and Mel in Yeshiva. By the time my husband gets home i am wiped out and ready for bed, camp mommy is hard work. We have been busy little campers. We stayed overnight at a Casino hotel when we picked up Mel from Yeshiva in Atlantic City. They had had a game room for kids where you can win tickets, you know skee-ball and what not. My kids have never done this and were in awe.

 We went to the beach,of course.

 We went to a local fair. This one had live music and Rozie full on air guitared the entire time.

 We saw a Maccabeats concert, my kids favorite!

 We put up the pool in our yard and have had some impromptu sprinkler time with all our clothes on.

 We went  to some of our favorite parks, even on rainy days.

 This has all been in the last two weeks, we still have the entire summer ahead of us and i cant wait.
Happy Summer!!!

Busy busy busy!

This has been a  busy busy week. We had end of the school year parties, and a yeshiva boy needing to be picked up from Atlantic City to spend the summer at home. We had a beautiful wedding to go to that had the best food ever, and i even got to meet some MyShtub fans. Great meeting you girls! More to come with pics form our trip and maybe even a song or two from our very own Dovie. Have a wonderful Shabbos.

Guest posting!!!

I feel like in the last few weeks all i have been doing is relaxing and enjoying the amazing weather. I have been feeling great and soaking up every minute of my good health. B"H

 This week Rozie learned to swing by laying her belly on a strap swing. I know this doesn't seem like a big deal, but she has watched her friends do this, and for weeks she has been trying. I'm not exaggerating for weeks she has tried to reach the swing and lay her little belly across the strap in sort of a flying position, but with no luck. Then one day it clicked and she was literally on top of the world. Remember when i told you guys about the excitement we have when she reaches milestones. This was one of those occasions, I was jumping for joy when she did it. My little big girl, so proud of her!

 Im going to keep this post short because i actually guest posted on an amazing blog Busy in Brooklyn.

Please take a minute to check out my DIY teacher gift post here is a sneak peak and follow the link for directions.

While you are there check out her blog that is full of wonderful recipes, and creative ideas. We are hoping she will soon come over here to MyShtub and do a guest post.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!