A Great Weekend

I have fallen a bit behind in my blogging..things have just been hectic here.

First of all...thank you so very much to all of your wonderful people who left me such positive comments on my last post. I was feeling the love and really appreciated it. I am sticking with things and toughing it out...and starting to see an improvement. :)

Last weekend my aunt got married, so we traveled down to Long Island for the wedding. I grew up on LI, but we now live in upstate NY. It was great to get back for a visit. The wedding was lots of fun. My daughter was the flower girl and did such a wonderful job!

Here is a great pic of me, hubby and kids at the wedding.





Whenever we are in NYC/LI there are some foods that we must get at some point during our visit...including a slice of pizza, a bagel with schmear and italian cookies/pastries. We were able to get all three this trip!

We went to the pizza place that I grew up going to. It was so strange to sit and eat a slice of pizza with my kids at the place that I sat and ate a slice at as a kid.

It was a fun and delicious weekend!!!

Our Sweet Vacation

You all guessed right...we went to Hershey Park! We were there in 2005 and 2007, so we figured it was time to head back. We went for 3 days and had such fun! It seems that the older the kids get, the more we are able to do.

We all LOVED Chocolate World....the factory tour ride is FREE and you get FREE chocolate at the end...what's not to love?? Here are the kids pretending they are factory workers:







Of course, while we were there...I had to stop at the Hershey outlets!!






We stayed at the Hershey Lodge...which is wonderful. They have character visits in the lobby and my kids were thrilled to see the peanut butter cup. The Lodge is a bit pricey...but we only stayed 2 nights and it is our only vacation this year...so that is how I justified it. :)




Our first night there we ordered room service! What fun! We got mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, cheesecake and a big chocolate chip cookie. The tray arrived with cloth napkins and a little vase with a flower...Bubby took one look at it and said "That is gorgeous."...very true.

O.k...there is a story for this ride. My wonderful hubby knows I don't like heights. We were standing next to this ride while the kids rode a kiddie ride and hubby bet me some money that I wouldn't ride it. Normally I would have turned him down....but I knew that there was a Coach outlet right next door and then money would let me get a purse...guilt free. So...I got on the ride, put my head back and closed my eyes. I mentally went to my "happy place"...the Coach outlet. Hubby, kids and my mom were shocked I did it...but one should never doubt what a girl might do when near a Coach outlet!

Both kids LOVED the Frog Hopper. Bubby laughed the whole time, which made MissyMiss laugh the whole time...they rode it 3 times. I got on it once with them...I did not laugh. I was happy to have an empty stomach.

Every time we go I take a pic of the kids by the height chart used to classify what rides they can and cannot ride. This year Bubby was a Hershey Kiss and MissyMiss was a peanut butter cup. It is fun to look at previous years height pics. MissyMiss went for the first time when she was 2 and only a wee-little Hershey miniature.

Well...there you have our family vacation. I am happy to report I actually lost a few ounces on vacation. I replaced meals with chocolate..not very healthy, but very delicious!

Where in the world is Running Mama?

I have been so behind on my blogging..it has just been a crazy summer here.



We took a quick family trip 2 weeks ago and I will be posting some of my favorite pics. I went here as a child and now have been enjoying taking my own kids. It is a few hours away from me and a very delicious place to me.


Here is a pic I took from the car when we first got to town. (Sorry for the awful quality)


So...who can guess where in the world Running Mama is???

A Weekend Trip

We traveled down to NYC this past weekend to take in some sights and visit family. It was a fun and fattening trip.

We started our trip with Lunch at Gray's Papaya. It was my first time there and the hot dogs were delish!!! I love the movie "You've Got Mail" and the two main characters eat there in the movie and I just had to try it. Hubby, kids and I all loved the hot dogs.

Then it was off to The Museum of Natural History. We have gone there every spring for the past 3 years. Usually we focus on the dinosuars. MissyMiss has recently discovered "Night at the Museum" and LOVES it. I went on to the museum's website and they had a page listing where you could find the things from the movie. This was a hit with the kids. Their favorite was the Easter Island head....DumDum want GumGum!!

Bubby's favorite part was the Hall of Marine Life. He kept saying "That not real....that not real...". I think he was trying to reassure himself that the huge whale hanging from the ceiling was "not real".

We headed to Central Park and FAO Schwartz. It was the kids first time there and it was fun...just a bit overwhelming for them. MissyMiss took her picture with the soldier outside, but Bubby was too scared.

The kids also had their first taxi ride. I think it was MissyMiss's favorite part of the trip.

We brought back dessert from Crumbs bakery. I am a true cupcake lover and was not disappointed....they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. They were ginormous. I could only eat a half.

It was a wonderful little trip and we can't wait to go back next year! I have been spending this week trying to work off all of the extra calories!

(In the interest of full disclosure I must also admit that while in NYC I had roasted peanuts from the guy on the corner and a delicious slice of pizza. There are just some things that I must eat while I am there. You just can't get it quite the same anywhere else. The only thing missing was a good NYC bagel with schmear...how I miss living on Long Island. :( )

In running news, my back injury is coming along. I am continuing with my back stretches and exercises. I have gotten back to walking and back on the bike, but feel like I should wait a few more days for running. I am really missing it and can't wait to get back to it.

Week 12

I only lost .1 pound this week. :( But...it is better than gaining weight!

I also hurt my back on Friday and have been dealing with that. It was feeling better Saturday morning, but I spent Saturday walking around NYC with the hubby and kids and it was pretty bad again Sunday. It seems to be a bit better today, but I am still taking it easy. I haven't run since Wednesday and it is killing me! I am trying very hard to be patient. Today it feels very tight, but at least I am walking fairly normal again.

We had a lovely trip to NYC this weekend...I will post some pics later.

This will be a very busy week for us. It is MissyMiss's birthday week and tomorrow is her kiddie party. 30+ kids at the skating rink. I have to frost 6 dozen cupcakes tonight and only do frosting from scratch, so it will likely take up my whole night. I will just have to keep myself from tasting too much frosting!

Going Dutch!

We took the kids to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA and the kids had a great time on all of the rides. For those not familiar with the park, it is an amusement park for kids. MissyMiss and Bubby loved the rides. Bubby could go on most rides and MissyMiss could go on almost all of them. MissyMiss even went on her first roller coaster and thought it was awesome! Here are a few pics of the kids on the rides.

The both went on the bulldozers. MissyMiss worked the controls like an expert, raising and lowering the bucket. Bubby didn't quite understand the controls, but loved it nonetheless.




MissyMiss went on the Frog Hopper! We were at that ride when the park first opened and she rode it by herself. She had fun waving to us from way up high.


There is a little train that circles the park...here is MissyMiss and Bubby on the train.



It was a beautiful day at the park. It was warm for the fall..about 70 degrees. Perfect weather for walking around. We can't wait to go back next year!