Road Trip v1.2

The Sightseeing Madness

Saturday Morning in Annapolis

We had a wonderful, leisurely breakfast wherein Eileen cooked us the best buttermilk pancakes I have ever tasted and we soaked up the cuteness of our four little ones gathered around the wooden table in the kitchen.

Then, it was off to Baltimore.

We spent the day at the inner harbor, starting with the aquarium.

It turns out, I think aquariums are a bit of a racket. 
I am a fan of the awe-inspiring giant tanks of sea creatures, to be sure, and I appreciate the work and expense that must go into maintaining them.  But $80 for our family to walk through a crowded, claustrophobic maze and push ourselves into little dark corners to see those sea creatures? And then be charged $3.00 for  a bottle of water in the cafe?  Oy.  To the aquarium's credit, the kids did have a marvelous time and seems to truly enjoy their glimpses of the underwater world, leaving principled annoyance to the adults.   For me, though, I think I'll stick to just wandering around outside of the famous, overpriced attractions in the future.

The inner harbor was lovely and rather magical, with the tall ships and dragon boats and swarms of people and lots of ducks.  My mom and I soaked up all the bustling harbor-side ambience of it with a quick escape to Chipotle (yes, we drove all the way to Baltimore and ate at Chipotle) after the aquarium, while Nat took the kids to see a few of the ships.

Then, we drove our tired, hot selves back home to Annapolis.  Nat headed off to D.C. to spend the evening with Jamo while the rest of use recovered with some TV time before venturing to the harbor in Annapolis for dinner.  

Annapolis is utterly charming.  

And the little harbor, really a dead-end canal dubbed "Ego Alley" in honor of the yachts and sailboats that cruise down and back to "see and be seen", was a delightful bustle of cars and people and summer-evening leisure. 

We ate hot dogs for dinner then got ice cream for dessert, and slowly milled about with the crowds.  The children climbed on statues and were wonderful for me.  Corydon was quite the celebrity:  Annapolis is wonderfully dog friendly, with water bowls outside of every store, and plenty of patio dining, and people here know their dog breeds, apparently.  We are used to Cor getting compliments.  In Cleveland, they sound something like, "What a pretty dog?  What kind is it?"  In Annapolis, it seemed that every person who walked by was saying "A Springer Spaniel!" and I lost count of the enamored visitors who told of Springers they'd had as children.  It was fun.

Next installment:  More Hot Weather and a Busy Sunday.  Followed by:  The Exciting Trip Home.  Please bear with me on posts, though, as I am off on my "mommies only" trip to NYC early tomorrow!!  (Woohoo!) Stay tuned!

A great day

Today was lovely.

We played at the park.

We shopped and explored at Eton.

We went to the pool and then to "Books to Go."  The kids made visors.

We ate popsicles on the porch.

Oh yeah.  And Jack learned to swim.




Not sure how today could have been better, actually.

It was sunny and breezy and not-to-hot all day; we started with a leisurely morning, pretending it was Sunday with the paper that waited for our return, breakfasting in pj's and playing on iPhones and flipping through fliers til almost 10.

Nat and the kids came to Solon with me where they helped me pack my classroom.  I'm still in a bit of shock that I am moving to a new position at school-- but trying to pack up the ungodly amount of stuff I have collected in my room?  That made it a bit more real.  It was melancholy to think about leaving the building that has been my work-home for 6 years.  I shared the news that I am leaving with a few more colleagues, and learned of others who are also shifting to new homes in the district.  It's a good year for change.  And while the boxes in my room are daunting, there is always a certain excitement to packing, preparing, planning.  I'll be back there tomorrow to close up shop, and then set up the new place in August...  here's hoping it will be a good move.

My children "helped" and otherwise entertained themselves at school for almost 2 hours (aren't they incredible!) and then we treated them to Chipotle and time to play at the Solon playground.  Jack climbed the rock tower, did somersaults and flips on the bars and rings, and pumped himself on the swings.  He is impossibly tall and capable these days.  And girlfriend, not to be outdone, climbed every ladder she could find and dangled herself from the monkey bars.  She's fearless, my girl.

A stop at Trader Joe's and some downtime for the kids brought us to what has become our traditional Tuesday evening.  I will be sorry to see "Books to Go" end next week as I love the structure it gives to our day.  Off to the pool at 4:00, change and stroll to the school for dinner at 6:00, storytime, pick books, head home and head to bed...We walk to everything and the children play hard and I get to love my community in all it's diversity and simplicity and green-ness.   And tonight-- Jack learned to swim.

I like to think I've been laying the foundation with our repeated trips to the pool these past few weeks, supporting his increasing confidence in the water as he has experimented with various flotation devices.  But all credit goes to Nat, whose presence there tonight (his summer class is over!  We have evenings together again!) most certainly made the difference.  As Jack himself yelled out at one point,  "My daddy is a great swimming teacher!!"   In the way that he does things, Jack just, well, started swimming.  A few minutes of kicking and splashing attempts, a few good head dunks, and then he was off, face in the water and moving along.  He is so very proud.  He has told us a number of times, "See, I learned to swim without even having swimming lessons!" Indeed you did, little man.  Never mind that until this week I was pretty sure that little sister would swim before our cautious, reticent boy.    He is constantly a surprise.

We took two exhausted and hungry littles over to the school where Jack was thrilled to show Daddy the ropes.  I love dinner in the cafeteria because it means I don't have to think of what to cook, and because my children eat a variety of raw veggies with excitement (and  alot of ranch dressing).  Now that we have gone three times, the kids really do know what to do, heading independently to the craft, then to the story.  In fact, it was Ivy who drew my attention to the fact that story time was about to start.

I had one of those "life is unbearably perfect" moments during tonight's story time, as Ivy slipped out of my lap to sidle in next to Jack on the floor, and the two of them together repeated lines of poetry with thirty other little children, chanting about summer time and happily chorusing "mmm-hmm!" in agreement at the end.  These beautiful young faces in so many hues, crowded together; so attentive, loving language and learning and being together...  My little ones, so lovely and so independent, so ready to leave my lap and join in to this world.  Time goes so fast and it is so right and my heart catches in my throat just thinking about it. 

We let the evening last, lingering on the playground, on our walk home, on the porch.  Some days deserve to last a little longer.

Road trip v.1.1

We have arrived back home from our four day jaunt to the Eastern Seaboard; tired but happy, we have a passel of new memories and a new rear tire to show for our journey.

Road trip v1/1: Heading East

We headed out bright and early on Friday and had a smooth and happy trip with our van full of excellent travelers.  (not pictured above are the 3 adults rounding out the group: Nat, Gram, and myself)

Really, our children are stellar in the car.  And, DVD players in the car are the most remarkable invention since sliced bread.  I officially take back all the nasty comments I made about lazy parents who let their children rot their brains while driving.  I didn't know, I just didn't know.

To our credit, we did spend time spotting silos, enjoying tunnels, and describing the tricks of light that make mountains look blue in the distance. But 7 hours in the car allows for all of that, and plenty of Max and Ruby too...

Our official destination and reason for the trip was the home of my cousin Steve and his family, who also happen to live in a part of the country we were excited to visit.  Jack has been talking about visiting Gavin and Ada's house since his cousins joined us for Thanksgiving last fall.  Much of our time was spent watching these 4 little people play together in the comfort of Steve and Eileen's lovely home in Annapolis.

 Ivy LOVED this little pink castle-tent; indeed she loved everything pink in the house, eagerly joining 3-year-old Ada for dress up and doll care, following this new female role-model's every move...

The kiddos did wonderfully with the task of sleeping in a new place.  Jack camped out in our room (as did the stuffed snake that traveled with him) and Ivy was thrilled to be using the "special crib" she most recently used at Gram's house. We were pleasantly surprised by the ease with which they went to bed; there may be hope for this summer-of-travel after all...

 Thinking of sleep, I am heading that way now.  Next installment, "Road trip v.1.2, the sightseeing insanity" to follow tomorrow in between folding loads of laundry.  And just wait for Road trip v1.3 wherein we both see the Weinermobile and obtain the new tire mentioned above...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Guess what Nat and I did this weekend?

We had a weekend away.

And it was lovely.

We went down to Hiram on Saturday for Nat's 15 year reunion (really??? how did that happen???) and my mom took the kids for their first overnight away from us since Ivy was born.

Apparently, it went swimmingly.  And Nat and I had a grand time pretending to be as young as we used to be, complete with drinks and dancing and a wild golf-cart ride at 1am.

We may need to make a habit of this.

Videos!

At the pool last night...



At Jumpstart Gymnastics, today:

My week as a mom

My first week of summer break!  Oh, how I treasure sleeping in til 7 (or later!) each day.  What a decadent treat.  Its also been a treat to see my children for more than three (tired and cranky) hours in the evening.  I've felt almost like a real mom, doing errands, tidying the house, squiring them to the pool and the park and various events, watching my son at gymnastics, going to playdates.

I could get used to this, I think.

The weather has been stunning this week and we've been out enjoying it, the kids and I.  While Jack has been at gymnastics camp, Ivy and I have spent mornings together, shopping at Eton and Legacy, and traipsing around the Botanical Gardens, pretending to the lifestyle of the East-Side stay-at-home-moms.   In the evenings, while Nat teaches his summer class, we've been going to the pool.  We've decided to really take advantage of the free wading pool privileges at Cumberland pool this summer, now that both kids are independent waders and burgeoning swimmers.  We've walked over to the pool three nights this week, enjoying the evening sun and what turns out to be a surprisingly easy activity to do with my darlings.  They're completely independent in the wading pool, and completely engaging and fun to play with in the "kids lane" of the big pool.  Jack is excited to be able to touch in the 3 foot section and is much more confident.  And Ivy, in the three days we've gone, is now able to float around independently, holding on to a "barbell" (or "Curbies," as she calls them).  Won't be long before I'm reading a book on one of the chaise lounges, living the fabled life of luxury that is "mom of independent, older kids".

Though, these golden-light days do tempt the wish to freeze time right here and now.

Little Nudists

I think you all know by now that my children have a propensity towards nudity.

Apples and trees and all.

So the following anecdotes will not surprise you, though (hopefully) they will bring a smile to your face.

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Yesterday, Jack had an impromptu playdate with a friend from Pre-K, a sweet little girl whose stay-at-home dad became friends with Nat. Jack and M. went upstairs to play in his room while the grown ups and little siblings stayed downstairs. Eventually Ivy tired of both grown up conversation and looking at the 3 month old baby, and went up to join them.  A few quiet minutes later, Nat thought he ought to go check things out and be sure little trouble wasn't causing too much of it.  He walked in the room to find Jack naked, Ivy stripped to her diaper, and M. pulling her skirt back up with a quick, "I was just putting my clothes back on!!"

Thankfully her dad is a relaxed sort of guy and did not freak out that his daughter was getting naked up in our son's room.  Of course, this event  followed on the heels of Jack's offer earlier in the afternoon, to let M. watch him pee standing up. Oh, Jack...

I imagine we won't be laughing so much when they are sixteen... except perhaps when we share this blog post with them....


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Today, Ivy and I spent a lovely day shopping with Gram, who spoiled us with lunch out and a set of coordinating outfits from Gymboree.  Ivy was content to watch TV as we held up lime green and pink items in various combinations and made our decisions ( I have to admit, though my heart belongs to resales, it was pretty fun to pick out brand new clothes for the girl).  I gathered her up as we went to pay, and she noted that her diaper was causing her distress in some way.  I told her not to worry, we'd change her in the car, and I deposited her in the stroller.  Moments later I glance over to see her, skirt hiked up above her waist, proudly holding her diaper over her head.

Thankfully, it was only wet.

And you have to hand it to a girl for being independent.

(On that note, I am not sure I've mentioned on here that we've started potty training, in a half-hearted and only-when-its-convenient sort of way, mostly consisting of leaving her diaper free in the evenings at home.  She's peed on the potty a total of 4 times now but enthusiastically tries all the time.  And, apparently, she's embracing the bare-bottomed lifestyle...)

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In other news, these past few days have brought frustrations (getting our sensitive boy to try his gymnastics camp) and trials (as Nat deals with the bureaucratic nightmare of arranging his thesis defense)-- but also perfect sunshiney trips to the pool and walks and a just-a-bit-slower pace to things.  And margaritas on the porch, too.

Summer is a good thing, and our children are funny, and I promise I will post pictures soon!

Summer came on a weekend...

...we went to a parade.*

Parade the Circle, no less.

Thankfully, there was no candy.  Just buckets of creativity wandering around the cultural heart of Cleveland.  Just a marvelous cross-section of our city's population gathered together in one festive, friendly mass of blankets and coolers and foldable chairs.  Just a wealth of food tents and craft tents and booths of information and booths of merchandise framing a green green lawn dotted with tables and children chasing balls and balloons and frisbees.  Just sunshine and steel drums and beauty.

 I love this city in the summertime.

Reality check-- it was a HOT day.  HOT.  And the parade started about 45 minutes late. And our lovely shaded spot gradually lost its shade as the afternoon progressed and we compressed our sweaty little group full of melting little children (and one very very large bag of kettle corn) onto fewer and fewer blankets...

And it was still wonderful.

This was our first year with two children who actively participated in the craft booths.  We had fun making masks and crowns and beaded bracelets, and managed to bring home both of our balloons (which are still tied to the wagon in the back of the van, giving it a very party vibe when we do errands...).  

The parade itself--they were entralled.  Jack stationed himself down by the curb with a 5 year old boy he'd met, and didn't move for the better part of 40 minutes.  High noon on a 90 degree day-- we ferried water up to him on a regular basis before retreating back to the blanket.  He was impervious.  He tells us his favorite part was "the lizard with the long legs and I liked it when he jumped around".  Ivy was a little scared of the more dramatic floats, saying "No get me!!" and "Dat one scary!" even as she craned her neck to see what was next.  She loved the drums, though, unequivocally.

A close second:  wandering the green and being spun around by daddy out in the sunshiney open of it all.  Standing in the middle of Wade Oval, it was summertime incarnate.

A delicious day, all told.

For mommy, the day had just begun:  I headed straight from the van to my car to join my sister at her friend Molly's wedding reception.  A lovely, cultured affair, it was held in the expansive  lakefront backyard of an exquisite Lakewood mansion.  Which, I might add, I was able to tour.  That plus a gin and tonic and a pig roast made for a pretty rockin' afternoon. Plus our friend and realtor was there, and she gave me a showing of a wonderful Lakewood Bungalow-- oh, the overhanging eaves on that place!  Bonus.

I came home in time to snuggle with my boy before bed  (my daughter, having decided that napping is optional on a parade day, went to bed a bit earlier than normal...) and then welcome Kate, Tiffany and Melinda over for a fire and some wine, ostensibly to discuss the logistics of our NYC trip.  What a perfect capstone to the perfect day, these beautiful friends of mine and glowing embers in the fire pit and giant marshmallows and so much laughter.  Summer is good for the soul.

But it didn't end there.  Today we went to the park to meet up with some former Parent Center regulars in town for a visit, and lingered for two hours as our children got to know some new friends, covered themselves in sand, and ran themselves ragged.  And on the way home we picked raspberries.

Cap that off with grilled steak and corn and bubbles and baseball in the driveway at Gram's tonight, and I think (if we had to) we could cross summer off the list.  Two days in and we've done it already.

What a breathtaking thought that this is only the beginning.

(*the above inside joke may be familiar to followers from Winnipeg, where the statement "Summer came on a weekend.  We had a picnic" is used to emphasize the length of a Manitoba winter...)