A few weeks ago the kids and I were invited to visit Kalahari Resort in the Poconos. We decided to drive up during the kids winter break and the timing was perfect. We had an amazing two day getaway with my mom and Lucas can’t stop talking about how much fun he had.
It was a long week. A loooong week with the kids and our visit to The Maidstone couldn’t have come at a better time. 24 hours of cozying up with my love. We ate delicious meals uninterrupted, enjoyed a few cocktails, played many, many rounds of heads up, and slept. We SLEPT!
On Friday morning Ivan and I boarded the LIRR and headed to East Hampton. The Maidstone invited us to spend the night and we promptly packed a bag and jumped at the opportunity. It’s a rare treat to spend time together alone as a couple so it always feels extra special when it happens. We were greated upon arrival by Carol, the manager of The Maidstone, who is an absolute gem and so incredibly gracious. She handed us two glasses of wine and immediately won me over ;).
The Maidstone was recently renovated in 2017 and has 19 rooms and cottages available to book. The home is stunning – decorated with gorgeous artwork and photography, an insanely beautiful color palette (my favorite room was then pink sun room!), and gorgeous furnishings. What I loved most was that despite how beautiful everything was to the eye, it was also comfortable and inviting. The staff was warm and attentive and made us feel right at home. We had originally planned to go out at night but opted for staying in. We ate dinner in front of the fireplace and Ivan won’t stop talking about the pork chop he ordered (it really was that good). We retreated up to our room around 10pm and had the coziest night snuggling in bed watching movies. So to sum up our weekend, it was perfect.
I wanted to add that although we went sans kids, The Maidstone is family friendly and we saw little ones eating and enjoying toys that are provided by The Maidstone. Also lots of cute furry family members as well! A huge thank you to the entire staff of The Maidstone and Carol’s wonderful hospitality. We can’t wait to return with the kids!
So now for the best part! The Maidstone is offering 50% off your stay with the code Valentinesday2019 through the weekend of February 15th! You can click here to book. xo
“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2018.”
What a year! 2018 brought so many adventures and amazing family memories. Watching you both grow is my greatest joy. I can’t wait to share another year around the Sun with you. Te adoro mi León y mi Sol.
“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2018.”
**I completely forgot to publish the last few portraits!
Lucas: You are into wrestling (thanks to daddy!) and you really want WWE figures for Christmas. I never thought I’d know the names of so many wrestlers but here we are and I’m loving it.
Lillie: You love helping in the kitchen and it’s so sweet. You ask me “what are the ingredients?” and pull up your little kitchen stool to assist me. You are the messiest and funniest sous-chef.
“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2018.”
Lucas: You have been practicing for your holiday show – a dance routine to a remix from The Lion King. So very fitting for my León. I can’t wait to watch your amazing moves on stage my love!
Lillie: You’ve been calling me your “beautiful girl”. My Lillie – YOU are my beautiful girl always and forever.
My baby is 7!! His love for Pokemon is still going strong and his only request was a Pokemon themed cake (thank you BJ’s :). He also LOVES science and we had the opportunity to have Science Show for Kids come over and they were a huge hit. We invited all his friends over for a fun Sunday party and it was one for the books. Happy 7th Birthday my beautiful boy!
“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2018.”
Lucas: We are doing Elf on a Shelf this year and you are SO excited. You also reminded me to download the Santa tracker app like we do every year and if you only knew how happy that makes me. I’m holding on to every bit of Christmas magic with you while you still believe!!
Lillie: Tonight I held you in my arms and you looked up at me and said “you da sweetest mommy”. I love you so much my sweet, sweet girl.
“A portrait of my children, once a week, evert week, in 2018.”
Lucas: You were supposed to be Dash from The Incredibles but last minute asked if you could please be a werewolf. So I bought a face painting kit and a wig and voila! The halloween shops were nearly wiped out and I wasn’t sure you’d be happy with what I came up with but you were STOKED. One of my favorite parts of the evening was watching you howl through the streets ;).
Lillie: You had a last minute costume switch as well. Your nana saved several of my old halloween costumes and brought this one over which I wore around the same age. I want to frame our photos side by side!
“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2018.”
Lillie: We are weening you off your bobo and I swear you have broken me at least 100 times. My heart aches when you softly tell me “mommy I miss bobo”. I just want to run out and buy you a new one so you don’t cry yourself to sleep in my arms. Tonight is your 2nd full night without it and I’m hoping you have a better day tomorrow my sweet girl. You got this mama!
Lucas: You have been recording on your video camera every day and the other night I sat down to watch them. I spent an hour cracking up and in awe of how amazing and witty you are. You start off every video by announcing the episode and saying hi to your “subscribers” because this is your “youtube channel”. The videos are basically like a day in the life style and the entire family makes cameos. I couldn’t love them more. I can’t wait to see what you come up with in your next episodes!
“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2018.”
Lucas: We are planning your birthday and you have requested “a very special” pokemon cake. There’s something so sweet to me about you not outgrowing your love for pokemon and I’m already on research mode so you can have the perfect cake for your party.
Lillie: You learned about the different parts of books in school and I keep asking you to repeat it to me. Hearing you say “and this is the spine..” is the cutest thing ever and I’m also just so proud of you!