It's my SITS day!

Welcome SITStas!  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go check out the SITS Girls. Go now!)  


There are no words to explain how excited I am for today.  I have been in love with SITS since I started blogging almost three years ago, and I have found so many wonderful friends through their classes, comment hours, and features.  I was lucky to have a blog critique from Fran, Kat, & Mel last year and am so happy to have you all over to visit again. 


Let me introduce you to my amazing little boys.  JD is 2 1/2, currently loves sports and looking at books, climbs EVERYTHING, and gives the best hugs  And my sweet, little O just turned 17 months.  He is a huge fan of Elmo, his brother, and cars, and he gets away with murder by flashing those dimples.

Returning readers know that my boys and I live on Long Island and love to travel.  (Right now, I am visiting Savannah, Georgia, on my first vacation without my babies.)  JD and O work as models, so we spend a lot of time in NYC.  I try not to spend ALL my free time on Pinterest, and I frequently get in over my head when I attempt any of that stuff.  Here at Try It, Mom!, I write about my struggles & triumphs as a mom, tips, my favorite things & the things that totally annoy me, the good days, bad days, & the "Is there a camera hidden somewhere?" days.


A couple things you may not know:
I will be returning to my job as an English Language Arts teacher this fall after staying home with my boys for three years.  I am a huge nerd about literature, and as I write this, I am sitting in Monterey Square pretending I am John Berendt.  Ideas for my next big adventure, an epic Hemingway tour through Spain, have been collecting on my desk for years, and I can't wait to get there.  

Me, this afternoon, about to stuff my face at The Wilkes House. mmm mmmm mmmmm

Please hang out for a while and get to know us.  There are a lot of changes on the horizon for our family, and I hope you stick around for the ride.  

Brothers

Yesterday I brought the boys to my parents' house.  I've been worrying about leaving them while I'm away, so I was relieved they were excited to be there and not at all concerned with me leaving.  After a busy day being spoiled by grandma & grandpa, it was time for bed.  My mom and I read them "one more book" after "one more book", and then we went downstairs.  

My dad was glued to the video baby monitor.  We were all curious to see how they would fall asleep while sharing a room.  


O started to cry.  

JD sat up and looked at him, got out of bed, and went to hug him through the crib rails.  Then he climbed up and into the crib.  He squeezed O's glow worm, and we watched as JD swayed to the music and O swayed in response.  I love watching them interact when they are "alone", and this was playing out even better than I had ever hoped.

JD climbed out and in a couple times, bringing more toys into the crib and soothing his brother.  When O fell asleep, he covered him with a blanket.  Then he climbed out of the crib, and it looked as if he was going to go back to his bed, but he just got his pillow, climbed back in and fell asleep next to his brother.

It makes all my other "things that make me happy" seem trivial when I realize how incredibly happy I am that they have each other.  I am so blessed to have such lovable and loving little men, and I don't remember ever being prouder of JD.

I was worried the flash would wake them up, but I risked it because I'm going to need this memory the next time JD makes me want to rip my hair out.

No Place To Go is the Place To Go

I am in love with my new relationship with MamaDrama because it leads me to such great things.  This past Sunday, my best friend and I attended an unsurprisingly awesome performance of Ethan Lipton's No Place to Go at Joe's Pub.

The tag line for this show is that it is "for the 100%", and that is exactly right.  Or at least I felt like it was for me.  It was my favorite type of funny- smart humor, well timed, and timely.  

"The company where he’s worked for the past 10 years is moving to another planet, and playwright Ethan Lipton doesn’t want to go. Part love letter to his co-workers, part query to the universe, part protest to his company and country, NO PLACE TO GO delivers a hilarious, irreverent and personal musical ode to the unemployed in this unforgettable evening."

It's people like Lipton that make me optimistic about the future of our country; that there are still opportunistic, creative minds out there encouraging people to think is important.  Thank goodness he didn't "settle for candy"!


I can't do the humor justice, so here's a little snippet of one song from the show:

You can still catch No Place To Go through April 8th.  I promise you won't regret it!  

**I was not compensated for this post, but I would like to thank MamaDrama and The Public Theater for providing our tickets!  Please check them out.  They're awesome!

Friday Favorite: We Heart Parades!

We spent last weekend attending two HUGE St. Patrick's Day parades. I've had my fill of pipe & drum bands, but my boys are asking to go to parades every day now.

It was perfect parade weather!

"I don't know what is taking it so long to get down the street.  I'm going to go check it out!" 

We waved to everyone & everything.

These guys had fun outfits.

But these guys outdid everybody.  (And the best part? I saw them all changing on the side of the street alongside their bus on our way home.)

We saw SO MANY cool, old cars, ambulances, & fire trucks.

dozens & dozens of pipe & drum bands

my happy little Irish boy

On our 2nd day of parade going, we wised up and parked the stroller next to a bakery.  And then we stuffed our faces with soda bread.

Somebody was not a fan of the war reenactment gun firing.

And there was even some brotherly love.

We hope you are having a great St. Patrick's Day!

I love being so close to NYC

It's no secret that we enjoy spending time in the city, but it's even better when I get to leave the boys (or at least one of them) at home and enjoy some time out with other moms.  This past week I was invited to two events that really spoiled me.

Last weekend, I attended Love, Loss, and What I Wore thanks to an exciting new program, PLAYTIME, the first ever child enrichment program that provides arts, culture and care for kids while their parents see an Off Broadway show.  The show literally made me laugh and cry over & over & over.  The cast was stellar, and the clothing-as-metaphor story lines made it a perfect choice for a girls' night out!  

The most exciting thing about the event was my introduction to playtime!  For much less than the cost of a babysitter, playtime! provides your children the opportunity to play and be creative with NYC artists, musicians, actors, & dancers while you enjoy some of the best Off-Broadway productions running.    Unfortunately for me, playtime! is for children ages 4 & up, so my kids won't be able to attend for a couple years.  As a dancer, going to the theater was a big part of my life before I had the boys, and I hope this program continues and grows so that we can take advantage!


And on Tuesday, O and I attended a Travel in Style event sponsored by Baby Cargo (I wrote about my love for their strollers at NY Mom's World, and I am so excited to see their new liners, footmuff, and stylish stroller bag! Who doesn't want to change up the look of their stroller every once in a while?), Citrus Lane (The goodies in their box came in handy on the trip home!), and The Peninsula Hotel (Truly the most helpful staff I have ever come across- I felt like a VIP before I even crossed the sidewalk.)  


I was happy to finally meet some of my favorite NY bloggers in person, learn about a bunch of fun new travel products, and carry home bags full of awesome swag.  (I wrote about a couple of the products that caught my eye at the DiaperBuds blog.)  I was also happy to see some products that we already use and love- like DiaperBuds (They are launching SwimmieBuds! Woohoo!) and Hold-On Handles (if you are a regular reader, you see JD successfully using these from time to time).  We have 2 big trips coming up over the next two months, so I am always looking for the best new things.

I brought O along because he was supposed to stay asleep in his cozy Baby Cargo stroller during the event- which of course means he woke up right after we walked in.

**I was not compensated for this post, but I would like to thank MamaDrama and Trumpeting Media for inviting me!  Please check them out.  They're awesome!

Wordless Wednesday: We Finished a Project!

Easy & cheap way to display all the priceless art that comes home from preschool.

Bets on how long the tools will stay on my dining table?

I used curtain wire and curtain rings with clips I found at Ikea. The whole thing cost $30.