Zachary to me on our way to Fadia's this morning - "Mama, did you see that huge garbage truck?"
Me (kind of annoyed) - "I did! It was parked right in the middle of the road so no one could get by. Tough to miss..."
Zachary - "Did you know it had a fire in the back?" (Spoken in his "that's so cool!" tough-guy tone)
Me - "No, Zachary. I don't think garbage trucks have fire in the back."
Zachary - "Yes they do, Mom!"
Me - "Really, Zachary, why do you think that?"
Zachary - "Because I spied it with my little eye!"
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
Sharks and Penguins and Turtles, Oh My!!
A couple of weeks ago Grammy and Grampy, Daddy and I took the kids to the New England Aquarium. Lexi had heard a presentation at school about penguins, and was excited to see some, and Zachary has been very into sharks lately, so it seemed like a good place to meet for a visit. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones who had this great idea, as the line when we got there was at least one full mile long. I know people say that when they are referring to a long line, "Geez, this line has to be a mile long!" but this was no exaggeration. If anything, I am underestimating. At first we stuck it out, but when we got to the door after twenty minutes and discovered more line, three times as long as what we just stood it, it was time to take action. While we wove back and forth and partook in the snacks they provided (the line was really that long...there were aid stations!!) I whipped out my iPhone and speedily purchased our tickets "online". Once I had a confirmation number we ducked under the ropes and went to the "pre-paid ticket line". There was only one person in front of us. One. Clearly many other people did not have this idea. Good for us.
Once we were finally in we had an absolute blast. I was concerned at first because it was so crowded, but we made it just in time to watch the penguins being fed, which provided a few minutes of great entertainment for all of us. As we were looking at all of the different penguins, Grammy pointed at one and said, "I wonder what that one is called." "Rock Hoppers" Lexi replied. We all chuckled and wandered off. Later Grammy wondered aloud about the name again, and Lexi again repeated, "They're called Rock Hopper's, Grammy." More chuckles from the adults, and more wandering. Finally we passed a sign and I laughed out loud. "Rock Hoppers". Of course. Why do we ever doubt Lexi? She is really almost never wrong.
After awhile we made our way up and around the enormous center tank. We found an empty window and parked ourselves there for at least 30 minutes. The kids never stopped exclaiming or laughing at how huge and awesome all the fish were - the enormous turtles, the giant manta rays, and the SHARKS!! They were simply thrilled, as were we. After about twenty minutes I watched a diver jump into the tank. I was excitedly telling Zach to look behind him to see the diver. He wasn't looking in the right direction, but still asking me where he was. Suddenly the diver swam right up behind him, tapped on the glass, and waved to Zach. We all laughed, and then had fun watching the divers feeding all of the animals.
We had a lot of fun visiting the aquarium. After our visit, Auntie Kae joined us for a yummy dinner. The kids were exhausted after a long, fun day and were very happy to find their beds ready for them when we got home.
(Somehow Ahren and I both managed to forget the camera so I only got a few with my phone. Grampy had one, and promises to send the pictures soon.)
Once we were finally in we had an absolute blast. I was concerned at first because it was so crowded, but we made it just in time to watch the penguins being fed, which provided a few minutes of great entertainment for all of us. As we were looking at all of the different penguins, Grammy pointed at one and said, "I wonder what that one is called." "Rock Hoppers" Lexi replied. We all chuckled and wandered off. Later Grammy wondered aloud about the name again, and Lexi again repeated, "They're called Rock Hopper's, Grammy." More chuckles from the adults, and more wandering. Finally we passed a sign and I laughed out loud. "Rock Hoppers". Of course. Why do we ever doubt Lexi? She is really almost never wrong.
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| Lexi with her penguin buddy. |
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| Zach loved the touch tank, and got to feel lots of manta rays! |
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| Lexi made friends with the seals |
Magic Hands
Lexi to Zach - "Zachary, can you please go get me some underwear?"
Zach - "Sure"
Lexi - "And can you try to make them princess, please?"
Zach - "Well, I'll try...but I don't have magical hands, you know."
Zach - "Sure"
Lexi - "And can you try to make them princess, please?"
Zach - "Well, I'll try...but I don't have magical hands, you know."
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Snow, Finally
We've had very little snow this year. It's actually quite odd. In October we had a huge snow storm that took down trees and closed schools. But since then we've had nothing more than a dusting, until today. Yesterday afternoon it started snowing, and over 30 hours later it still has not stopped. Despite the mess it's caused, I've been glad to see it. But it was an eye opener as to how little snow we've had this year when Zach, while pointing to the snowflakes falling from the sky said to me, "Mama, what are those things? Are those things mosquitoes?" Yea, it's been a quiet winter. And I've enjoyed it.
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| Lexi and Zach are less than impressed with our "pile" than they were last year. |
We had a short amount of time to play in the snow after picking up the kids from school and daycare. Lexi and Zach went off to play in the yard while I shovelled. A few minutes later, Lexi came running over to me with a football, laughing hysterically. She said, "Mom, I saw this in the snow and first I thought it was a rock, but then I looked closer and thought, 'what the heck is an armadillo doing in our yard??' then I realized it was a football."
My kids crack me up.
Adults Are So Confusing
I've rarely if ever used "baby talk" to talk to my kids. I might change my tone, or spend a little more time explaining things, but I typically use the same words to talk to them as I would use to talk to any (intelligent) adult. I always used to think that my kids understood pretty much anything I said to them, until recently.
When we went to the BVIs, we told the kids that even though we were going to be really far away, if they looked up at the moon in the sky, they would be looking at the same moon we were looking at. We even planned to all look at the moon at the same time one night (we remembered, the kids forgot!). Zach didn't seem phased by our trip, but Lexi seemed happy with the moon thing. Last week we told the kids that Miss Melissa was coming to babysit for them. They were very excited, as they love Miss Melissa. Zach asked us if we were going out to look at the moon. I thought it was cute, so I told him that we were, at one of our friends houses. When the night came and we were saying our goodbyes, Zach said to Miss Melissa, "I'm not going to be scared of you when my mom and dad leave. But I might be a little shy of you." I laughed and assured him he would have fun, kissed him on the head, and left. The next morning I heard Zach get up in his room, but he never came in to wake us up. About twenty minutes later, Lexi came him and woke up her Daddy. Before they went down stairs I asked them to check on Zach. When they opened his door they found him sitting on his bed, and he exclaimed, "DADDY!!! You came HOME!! Did Mommy come home too????" It was at that moment that we realized that he thought we were leaving him for a week with Miss Melissa. We never said, "See you in the morning." or clarified that we would only be out for the evening. I just can't imagine what he thought about that!
A couple of weeks later I was fed up with the kids one morning because they were not doing what I had asked them to do. I told them that if they didn't start following my directions that they were going to be grounded, and lose all of their privileges (cartoons, play dates, Imajine That trips, etc.).
The kids settled down, and a few minutes later Zach came to me and said, "Mommy, am I being a good boy?" I said that he was and he said, "But are you still going to put me in the ground?" After we laughed about the misunderstanding, Lexi told me that the first time she heard the term "being grounded" (not by me) she thought it meant being put into the blender and ground up! My goodness. I'm going to have to be much more careful about what I say in the future!
When we went to the BVIs, we told the kids that even though we were going to be really far away, if they looked up at the moon in the sky, they would be looking at the same moon we were looking at. We even planned to all look at the moon at the same time one night (we remembered, the kids forgot!). Zach didn't seem phased by our trip, but Lexi seemed happy with the moon thing. Last week we told the kids that Miss Melissa was coming to babysit for them. They were very excited, as they love Miss Melissa. Zach asked us if we were going out to look at the moon. I thought it was cute, so I told him that we were, at one of our friends houses. When the night came and we were saying our goodbyes, Zach said to Miss Melissa, "I'm not going to be scared of you when my mom and dad leave. But I might be a little shy of you." I laughed and assured him he would have fun, kissed him on the head, and left. The next morning I heard Zach get up in his room, but he never came in to wake us up. About twenty minutes later, Lexi came him and woke up her Daddy. Before they went down stairs I asked them to check on Zach. When they opened his door they found him sitting on his bed, and he exclaimed, "DADDY!!! You came HOME!! Did Mommy come home too????" It was at that moment that we realized that he thought we were leaving him for a week with Miss Melissa. We never said, "See you in the morning." or clarified that we would only be out for the evening. I just can't imagine what he thought about that!
A couple of weeks later I was fed up with the kids one morning because they were not doing what I had asked them to do. I told them that if they didn't start following my directions that they were going to be grounded, and lose all of their privileges (cartoons, play dates, Imajine That trips, etc.).
The kids settled down, and a few minutes later Zach came to me and said, "Mommy, am I being a good boy?" I said that he was and he said, "But are you still going to put me in the ground?" After we laughed about the misunderstanding, Lexi told me that the first time she heard the term "being grounded" (not by me) she thought it meant being put into the blender and ground up! My goodness. I'm going to have to be much more careful about what I say in the future!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
January in the BVIs
It's been one month since my last post. That makes it sound like I'm about to confess something, and have to say three Hail Mary's to be forgiven. So, here's the confession...when I have too much to say, my defense is to just not say anything. When I think about posting something I think, "Well, I can't post about that until I post about this huge thing that is hanging over my head!" That huge thing, this time, was our trip to the British Virgin Islands. So...here goes.
On January 3rd, Ahren and I walked away from the "Disaster Caused By Christmas" in our house, dropped the kids off with Gigi and Poppy, and hopped on a plane to St. Thomas to spend nine days in Paradise. I've never been so stressed out about a trip in my life - leaving the kids for nine days, right after Christmas, leaving the kids for nine days, did I mention that we were leaving the kids for NINE DAYS!?!? I was sure I would never be able to relax - I'd miss the kids way too much! But, Ahren's lifelong friend Tony was getting married, and since we did not want to miss the wedding, we put on our brave faces and hopped on the plane. I'm not sure the plane had actually taken off before I was in vacation mode. Kids? We have kids? Yea, it was good stuff.
We landed in St. Thomas and didn't even make it into the hotel before we started running into people we knew...or, people we were going to get to know. It was an immediate party, and we didn't have any kids to put to bed. Life was good. We stayed on St. Thomas only overnight before boarding a ferry in the morning to Tortola. The plan was to arrive in Tortola, take a cab ride to the other side of Tortola, and the get the next ferry to Virgin Gorda where we would be staying at the Bitter End Yacht Club for five days. The day didn't exactly go as planned, but it was the beginning of the Caribbean learning curve...get used to sitting and have another drink. You're going to be here awhile. And it's a pretty good technique - the more Pain Killers we drank, the less we cared that we were still sitting in the little cafe in Tortola, still waiting for a ceasar salad, and still not at the BEYC.
Arriving at the Bitter End was arriving in Paradise. It is an amazing resort filled with luxurious yet rustic cabins all nestled into the hillside, and along about a mile of white sand beaches. You can only get to the resort by boat, so it is quiet, secluded, and absolutely gorgeous.
During our five days at the resort we were lucky enough to spend time with a lot of Ahren's old friend from Westboro - some of whom we never see, and some who we see all the time. They are a great group and so much fun to spend time with. Tony and his bride, Sarah took very good care to make sure we had fun while we were there. They took us out for a sunset champagne cruise on Thursday evening, a snorkeling trip on Friday morning, a delicious and very fun rehearsal dinner on Friday night at the Saba Rock Resort, and then, of course, the stunning wedding on Saturday. It seems like all we did in between the activities was eat and drink. We would get up in the morning, go to breakfast, sit for at least an hour while friends came and went, then walk to the next restaurant and have lunch and drinks, and then it was time to get ready for dinner. It was so fun, and so relaxing.
On Sunday a complete stranger (to us) offered to take us to The Baths on his boat.We grasously accepted his offer, and then worried the rest of the day that he was going to drag us into the boulders and murder us. Luckily, he turned out to be a very nice guy, and it was because of him that we were able to see such an amazing sight. It was my favorite day of the trip.
After five amazing days at Bitter End, Ahren and I made our way back to St. Thomas on Monday. We had planned to stay an extra couple of days on St. Thomas, and while it was nice to have some time alone, we were less impressed with the beaches of St. Thomas than those in Virgin Gorda. By the time Wednesday arrived, we were ready to get back on the plane and home to see our babies. They had been fine, and so had we, but after nine days we were ready to cash in on all the hugs and kisses we had missed.
We are so grateful to Tony and Sarah for giving us a reason to go to the BVIs. We hadn't had a trip away without the kids since we had kids and we are glad that we took this opportunity. Gigi and Poppy were so wonderful to take the kids for us for nine days. They are good kids, but they have a busy schedule...one that I can't work without the help of my mom. So it was a big deal, and they did it for us happily. We are so, so lucky to have had such a wonderful opportunity, and I still enjoy looking back on the pictures and smile remembering how perfect those nine days were.
While we are already talking about our next trip to the BVIs, for now it's back to reality...a reality that we're happy to belong to.
Here and here are all of the pictures from the trip.
On January 3rd, Ahren and I walked away from the "Disaster Caused By Christmas" in our house, dropped the kids off with Gigi and Poppy, and hopped on a plane to St. Thomas to spend nine days in Paradise. I've never been so stressed out about a trip in my life - leaving the kids for nine days, right after Christmas, leaving the kids for nine days, did I mention that we were leaving the kids for NINE DAYS!?!? I was sure I would never be able to relax - I'd miss the kids way too much! But, Ahren's lifelong friend Tony was getting married, and since we did not want to miss the wedding, we put on our brave faces and hopped on the plane. I'm not sure the plane had actually taken off before I was in vacation mode. Kids? We have kids? Yea, it was good stuff.
We landed in St. Thomas and didn't even make it into the hotel before we started running into people we knew...or, people we were going to get to know. It was an immediate party, and we didn't have any kids to put to bed. Life was good. We stayed on St. Thomas only overnight before boarding a ferry in the morning to Tortola. The plan was to arrive in Tortola, take a cab ride to the other side of Tortola, and the get the next ferry to Virgin Gorda where we would be staying at the Bitter End Yacht Club for five days. The day didn't exactly go as planned, but it was the beginning of the Caribbean learning curve...get used to sitting and have another drink. You're going to be here awhile. And it's a pretty good technique - the more Pain Killers we drank, the less we cared that we were still sitting in the little cafe in Tortola, still waiting for a ceasar salad, and still not at the BEYC.
Arriving at the Bitter End was arriving in Paradise. It is an amazing resort filled with luxurious yet rustic cabins all nestled into the hillside, and along about a mile of white sand beaches. You can only get to the resort by boat, so it is quiet, secluded, and absolutely gorgeous.
During our five days at the resort we were lucky enough to spend time with a lot of Ahren's old friend from Westboro - some of whom we never see, and some who we see all the time. They are a great group and so much fun to spend time with. Tony and his bride, Sarah took very good care to make sure we had fun while we were there. They took us out for a sunset champagne cruise on Thursday evening, a snorkeling trip on Friday morning, a delicious and very fun rehearsal dinner on Friday night at the Saba Rock Resort, and then, of course, the stunning wedding on Saturday. It seems like all we did in between the activities was eat and drink. We would get up in the morning, go to breakfast, sit for at least an hour while friends came and went, then walk to the next restaurant and have lunch and drinks, and then it was time to get ready for dinner. It was so fun, and so relaxing.
On Sunday a complete stranger (to us) offered to take us to The Baths on his boat.We grasously accepted his offer, and then worried the rest of the day that he was going to drag us into the boulders and murder us. Luckily, he turned out to be a very nice guy, and it was because of him that we were able to see such an amazing sight. It was my favorite day of the trip.
After five amazing days at Bitter End, Ahren and I made our way back to St. Thomas on Monday. We had planned to stay an extra couple of days on St. Thomas, and while it was nice to have some time alone, we were less impressed with the beaches of St. Thomas than those in Virgin Gorda. By the time Wednesday arrived, we were ready to get back on the plane and home to see our babies. They had been fine, and so had we, but after nine days we were ready to cash in on all the hugs and kisses we had missed.
We are so grateful to Tony and Sarah for giving us a reason to go to the BVIs. We hadn't had a trip away without the kids since we had kids and we are glad that we took this opportunity. Gigi and Poppy were so wonderful to take the kids for us for nine days. They are good kids, but they have a busy schedule...one that I can't work without the help of my mom. So it was a big deal, and they did it for us happily. We are so, so lucky to have had such a wonderful opportunity, and I still enjoy looking back on the pictures and smile remembering how perfect those nine days were.
While we are already talking about our next trip to the BVIs, for now it's back to reality...a reality that we're happy to belong to.
Here and here are all of the pictures from the trip.
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