Family Archives - Life in the DayngrZone

Daddy Daughter Spa Day

{ March 24, 2013 } - Trish

This weekend my little one has been feeling pretty icky. Her brother got to have a play-date yesterday and because she was sick, she wasn’t able to join in on the fun. But being under the weather doesn’t mean she can’t have fun at home. She hatched a plan to get her daddy to have a daddy-daughter spa day today, since she was stuck at home. She convinced him to paint her nails and in turn, she would get to paint his. I have to say, I was pretty amazed to see their pretty purple and pink nails. Never underestimate the power a little girl has over her daddy.

Pretty darn cute, isn’t it?

What fun things do you do when your kids are at home and feeling a bit unwell? I’d love to know.

Happy New Year Traditions!

{ December 29, 2012 } - Trish

Above is a photo of our Christmas tree this year, in the dining room, taken with my new Canon EOS Rebel T3

Hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone and we’re off to the start of a new year. The kids and I are looking forward to New Year’s Eve this year. We’re spending it at my aunt’s house, surrounded by family and friends. Being Italian, we’re going to have plenty of food on hand for everyone to enjoy.

Our Wacky New Year Traditions

I think one of the things I’m looking forward to the most is the fun traditions we have, like making noise at midnight by banging on pots and pans. We eat 12 grapes, one with each bell strike of the clock after midnight, and we pull out the largest bills we have in our wallets and shake our money at the moon. So silly, but fun. The kids will be experiencing this for the first time here in North Carolina.

We’re not the only ones who participate in these wacky traditions, though. Other cultures have their own New Year traditions, too. When I lived in South Florida it was pretty common to see people walking around the block with their luggage. So, it’s not just us.

Finally, It Feels Like the Holidays

Holidays here actually feel like holidays, the weather is a little cooler and we can appreciate the change of seasons.

This will be the first year that the kids can actually go outside and enjoy these traditions. Back in Miami, it just wasn’t safe to go outside because people would shoot guns in the air and I was seriously concerned someone would get hurt. One year a bullet came down and lodged in my neighbor’s carport. I’m so thrilled not to have to deal with that anymore.

I hope your new year will be filled with love and new adventures!

What holiday traditions do you have? I’d love to know.

Pumpkin Patches, Hayrides and Making Memories

{ December 18, 2012 } - Trish

Fall is a wondrous time of year and I plan to take full advantage of it in my new home state where we get four real seasons! So what better way to celebrate cooler temps than with pumpkin patches, hayrides and making memories?

The kids and I had never been on a hayride together and we’d never picked pumpkins from a pumpkin patch. It was an extra special treat to find Mike’s Farm this year and to be able to go there right before Halloween. We had a great time with our friend Jennifer and we had a wonderful dinner, too.

Dinner at Mike’s Farm

Mike’s Farm serves their food family-style with a touch of country. Once you’re seated at one of their large farm tables they bring out bowls of fried chicken and all the sides like green beans, mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, drinks and more. The pork loin and gravy is my ultimate favorite! And, you even get dessert.

There are plenty of comfortable rocking chairs on the front porch for you to relax in while waiting for your table (and friends, you will wait – the lines are legendary as is the food!) or to recuperate after eating ’til your buttons pop! Because family-style doesn’t just mean you’re all sharing the food on the table but also that the food keeps coming until you say stop.

Pumpkin Patches, Hayrides and Making Memories

As you can see, we picked some really great pumpkins! The biggest one is Rex’s. Not bad for his very first pumpkin ever! We did a great job and displayed them on our front porch when we decorated for fall. The best part of all, we’ve made some great memories in our new home and our new hometown.

Decorating Gingerbread Houses for the Holidays

{ December 1, 2012 } - Trish

Today was another day for the books! The kids have been saying that they miss Florida but when I ask them what they miss, they always share memories – not places.

I explained that the memories you make travel with you wherever you go. Then I reminded them that we’re making plenty of new memories here in North Carolina, too. But, that they will still have all of their old memories of Florida.

Decorating Gingerbread Houses for the Holidays

We certainly haven’t been bored! Since moving to the Crystal Coast, I’ve made sure to look for fun events we can do together as a family to really get the kids engaged and help them fall in love with their new hometown while making new memories. Our latest adventure, decorating gingerbread houses.

Gingerbread House, make a Gingerbread house, morehead city event making gingerbread houses

We drove over to Alex and Brett’s Bakery, in downtown Morehead City, to decorate Gingerbread houses.

Decorating Gingerbread Houses, Gingerbread House, Gingerbread House decorating in Morehead City

My sweet friend, Daisy, came along for the fun, too. I’m happy to say that she made some great memories right along with us since it was her very first time decorating a gingerbread house.

The staff at Alex and Brett’s were so sweet. They made sure the kids had a wide variety of candy available to them and kept replenishing it whenever they ran low. Most of the candy made it on to the houses but some made it directly into their mouths. Kids will be kids.

We all had a great time and made some precious memories together. I think we did a pretty good job on those gingerbread houses, don’t you?

On To The Next Adventure

After we decorated to our heart’s desire, we walked over to the waterfront and Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant to watch the Christmas flotilla! Here are the flotilla photos.

If you’d like to follow along with all our adventures in our new home town, you can follow along by checking out my blog posts on the Crystal Coast.

Bigfoot, Monster Trucks and Life in North Carolina

{ November 11, 2012 } - Trish

Have You Ever Seen Bigfoot?

Not Bigfoot, the mythical creature, Bigfoot the monster truck!

We’re really getting into the swing of things here in North Carolina as we begin to build a life along the Crystal Coast. We went to see BIGFOOT for the grand opening of the Jacksonville, NC. Family Tire store! The kids had never seen a monster truck up close and personal so it was pretty exciting. After we arrived and had taken a few photos, Bella made me laugh out loud when she turned to me and said “Ok, when’s the show?” Turns out, that was what all their excitement was about. They thought there was going to be a giant monster truck rally of some sort where cars were going to be crushed. Don’t feel too sorry for them. They still had a good time. They got an autographed photo from Bigfoot’s driver and they got to drive a simulated race car. All in all, it was a fun day.

From Bigfoot to Mario Andretti

Earlier in the week, we went to the same location and they met Mario Andretti and got autographed pictures. It was a real treat since both of them are big fans of the Disney movie Cars. Now, that’s pretty cool. How many kids can say they’ve met Mario Andretti AND seen Bigfoot, too?

Family Tire, a Family Owned Business

Family Tire is a local family-owned business so, in the spirit of supporting small businesses, I’d encourage you to shop locally if you have tire needs. I’ve appreciated the family-friendly events they’ve created.

Jacksonville Family Tire
204 Yopp Road
Jacksonville, NC 28540
910-353-3700

Things I See In My First Grade Classroom

{ June 25, 2012 } - Trish

This was Bella’s first real paragraph from First Grade. I’m so proud of my 6-year-old. I can’t believe she’ll be in Second Grade in August. Where does the time go?

Do you keep photos or hard-copies of your kids’ writing and school work? If so, how do you keep it organized and how do you select which items to keep and which ones to toss?

Whale Tails And Seaquarium Adventures

{ February 8, 2008 } - Trish

I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean and marine life, so taking the kids for some whale tails and seaquarium adventures at the Miami Seaquarium is always a treat for me and for them. My father also loved the ocean, so regular trips to the Miami Seaquarium and Key Biscayne were a big part of my childhood.

One of the few good things about living in Miami again is being able to give my children some of the same experiences I had as a child. There’s something truly special about being able to share a childhood memory with my kids that they’ll be able to relate to with their own experiences later in life.

Truth be told, I never really wanted to come back to Miami – least of all with children. I always said I didn’t want to raise children in Miami but I will say that I’m enjoying taking them to many of the same places I enjoyed as a child as well as exploring new finds, too.

We all had such a wonderfully fun day. The kids thoroughly enjoyed watching the dolphin show and then later going downstairs to watch them swim through the windows of the tank. The pure joy emanating from them was delightful! To hear Bella squeal and giggle with glee just warmed my heart. Rex waved to each dolphin as it swam by the window and said goodbye to them each time they swam off. It was quite precious.

I’m sure as we spend more time visit the Seaquarium, I’ll have plenty more photos to share from our adventures.