Friday, January 30, 2009
My "Snow" Day
Some of you may have heard the news about the snow and ice storm that socked New England with tons of, well, snow and ice. We did get bad weather on Wednesday, but not what we're used to. We woke up to canceled school (BJ actually had his classes canceled in Storrs) and work (my Bible study cancels meetings if school is delayed or canceled). So did we all get to sleep in and then go outside and make snowmen or have a snowball fight? Nope. We had sleet and freezing rain here on the coast. Wednesday afternoon I bundled the kids all up to go out and instead of a nice blanket of puffy snow we sloshed through slushy mud to get to the car. Toby was really confused because I had packed him into his snowsuit. "Why am I all wet?" was his question. "Because it's raining and not snowing" I had to answer. He seemed to think this was weird. So did I.
My "Stay at Home" Mentality
If people out here ask what I do I say I'm a full-time mom instead of a stay-at-home mom. This is not to say that moms who hold jobs in addition to raising kids are in some way not full-time moms. They are more like massively underpaid overtime moms I think. It's just a way of pointing out that while I work from home I don't actually get a paycheck and I don't stay home every day watching soap operas and eating Bon Bons (I don't even watch Oprah). Ask me how much of the inauguration coverage I got to hear (the TV was on all day, regardless of whether or not I got to sit and listen to anything) while staying at home and you'll see that life at home can be just as distracting as life in an office. So my rewards and incentives have to come from the little things. The fact that I don't have a dress code--hooray for sweats on a chilly, cloudy day!--counts for a lot when contemplating the benefits of being a full-time mom. While I don't stay at home all the time, there are some days where I just enjoy the "quietude" of our little house and the fact that I can enjoy my kids on their schedule. Today after Norah's morning nap, for example, we walked down to Jupiter Point beach and threw shells into the water. Toby had a blast all bundled up in his snow suit trudging through the dirty snow on the side of the road. He jumped in almost every puddle on the way there and slid across every icy driveway possible.
The other day we baked cookies and took a plate next door to the construction workers. Our neighbor (back from 6 months on a sub) is getting an addition put on and the workers provide a lot of entertainment for Toby (the construction part, not the language part, although they are pretty mindful when they actually see us out and about).
We're looking into preschools for Toby and BJ and I are kind of divided on what to look for. He thinks that Toby should take 2 years of preschool and then start kindergarten reading. I feel like he needs more socialization and organized play time and the reading will come along just fine. Right now he's in his room pouring through a bag of new library books. He loves to read already. (Side note: we're sick of Toby's bed time stretching out until 9 or 9:30 so we're starting the process of dropping precious nap time....more on that later.) We'll see what middle ground we reach by the time Toby's 4 and we actually start him in a program.
The other day we baked cookies and took a plate next door to the construction workers. Our neighbor (back from 6 months on a sub) is getting an addition put on and the workers provide a lot of entertainment for Toby (the construction part, not the language part, although they are pretty mindful when they actually see us out and about).
We're looking into preschools for Toby and BJ and I are kind of divided on what to look for. He thinks that Toby should take 2 years of preschool and then start kindergarten reading. I feel like he needs more socialization and organized play time and the reading will come along just fine. Right now he's in his room pouring through a bag of new library books. He loves to read already. (Side note: we're sick of Toby's bed time stretching out until 9 or 9:30 so we're starting the process of dropping precious nap time....more on that later.) We'll see what middle ground we reach by the time Toby's 4 and we actually start him in a program.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
My Favorites (#1 really)
I love getting the mail. I don't know why. Maybe it's just the little break I get to have walking outside in the fresh (read: frigid) air. Maybe it's the anticipation that I'll actually get something addressed to me (at 930 Shennecossett Rd. Groton, CT 06340). Maybe it's just the fact that every few days or so I can look forward to a new movie from Netflix (I think the last Lord of the Rings movie is coming today).
Edit: There was actually no first "My Favorites" post, so I changed the title of this one. More to come, I'm sure, but they are mostly just random thoughts in random order.
Edit: There was actually no first "My Favorites" post, so I changed the title of this one. More to come, I'm sure, but they are mostly just random thoughts in random order.
My Funny Kids
Every day I see more of my kids' personalities and imaginations shine through.
The other day Toby was talking about things he did with his little brother. I wondered where he got the idea that he had a little brother. I asked him about how he got a brother and he replied "The Tooth Fairy poofed him." Apparently his impression of the Tooth Fairy is a little bit bigger than we intended to communicate.
And any time I need to calm Norah down or occupy her for a few minutes the never-fail solution is to give her my purse, and specifically my wallet. The thing she gets the fastest: my credit card. Hmmm... I think we'll be shopping together in no time!
No word yet on the "lost" bag. We put in a claim on Friday for $1600 worth of stuff. I claimed $225 for the signed 1st edition of Eclipse. It's probably worth less than a generically signed 1st edition (mine was personalized), but it's still worth way more than the $20 I paid for it 18 months ago.
Addition: While I was typing this BJ walked around the corner into the living room where the kids were playing and I hear this exchange: "Hey Toby, what happened here? Is this naughty?" and Toby's reply: "Norah did it." Which is probably in some part true (she was getting into my purse) but it was just pretty funny that Toby immediately jumped to "Norah did it." What do we have to look forward to in the years to come?
The other day Toby was talking about things he did with his little brother. I wondered where he got the idea that he had a little brother. I asked him about how he got a brother and he replied "The Tooth Fairy poofed him." Apparently his impression of the Tooth Fairy is a little bit bigger than we intended to communicate.
And any time I need to calm Norah down or occupy her for a few minutes the never-fail solution is to give her my purse, and specifically my wallet. The thing she gets the fastest: my credit card. Hmmm... I think we'll be shopping together in no time!
No word yet on the "lost" bag. We put in a claim on Friday for $1600 worth of stuff. I claimed $225 for the signed 1st edition of Eclipse. It's probably worth less than a generically signed 1st edition (mine was personalized), but it's still worth way more than the $20 I paid for it 18 months ago.
Addition: While I was typing this BJ walked around the corner into the living room where the kids were playing and I hear this exchange: "Hey Toby, what happened here? Is this naughty?" and Toby's reply: "Norah did it." Which is probably in some part true (she was getting into my purse) but it was just pretty funny that Toby immediately jumped to "Norah did it." What do we have to look forward to in the years to come?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
My Lost (or Stolen) Bag
The highlight from a day of travel with two kids (and one sick hubby): arriving in Hartford 40 minutes early.
The low point: having one of our bags go missing.
This is the first time in ages that an airline has lost a bag of ours. And the last time it happened the bag just missed the flight and was returned to us the next day (remember how many problems the DIA baggage system had in the beginning?). I've gotten careless with the airlines. This is even worse than the last time my luggage was lost because I think my bag might have been stolen.
I was waiting at the carousel with Toby and Norah while BJ went to get the car. Three of our bags came off the belt within a minute of BJ leaving, and I thought I saw the fourth bag, a black duffel bag, round the corner. So I called BJ back to come help with the bags. But in the mean time the duffel never passed by.
You know that sickening feeling when you start to recognize all the bags on the carousel and no new ones are coming out? That happened for several rounds and then the belt stopped. No black duffel bag. We went to baggage services and had to start a claim for a lost bag. When the lady heard my story that I thought I saw the bag on the belt but it never got to our end she said "Gee, I hope no one took it by mistake." That was comforting. They were no help. Now we're waiting here on pins and needles waiting for a phone call that our bag has been found -- or returned.
The bag that was lost contained all of our toiletries, some clothes (from each of us), books, and even my breast pump. What an invasion of privacy if this stupid bag was, in fact, stolen. And a loss of hundreds of dollars at least. I'm sad to say I even packed a few pieces of jewelry into my toiletry bag (my favorite watch, and two favorite necklaces). Another sad thing that's lost: my Stephenie Meyer signed copy of Eclipse. Can you imagine a new thieving scam set up in airport baggage claims? I'm picturing someone nonchalantly picking up a bag off the belt and walking off to the nearest pawn shop. Pawing anything that looks worthwhile and dumping the rest in the trash.
Should I be so hasty to judge fellow Americans? I just wonder how long it takes someone to realize they have the wrong luggage, and once they realize they've taken the wrong bag will they return it? The longer it takes for the airlines to call us the less hope I have that the bag will be found.
The low point: having one of our bags go missing.
This is the first time in ages that an airline has lost a bag of ours. And the last time it happened the bag just missed the flight and was returned to us the next day (remember how many problems the DIA baggage system had in the beginning?). I've gotten careless with the airlines. This is even worse than the last time my luggage was lost because I think my bag might have been stolen.
I was waiting at the carousel with Toby and Norah while BJ went to get the car. Three of our bags came off the belt within a minute of BJ leaving, and I thought I saw the fourth bag, a black duffel bag, round the corner. So I called BJ back to come help with the bags. But in the mean time the duffel never passed by.
You know that sickening feeling when you start to recognize all the bags on the carousel and no new ones are coming out? That happened for several rounds and then the belt stopped. No black duffel bag. We went to baggage services and had to start a claim for a lost bag. When the lady heard my story that I thought I saw the bag on the belt but it never got to our end she said "Gee, I hope no one took it by mistake." That was comforting. They were no help. Now we're waiting here on pins and needles waiting for a phone call that our bag has been found -- or returned.
The bag that was lost contained all of our toiletries, some clothes (from each of us), books, and even my breast pump. What an invasion of privacy if this stupid bag was, in fact, stolen. And a loss of hundreds of dollars at least. I'm sad to say I even packed a few pieces of jewelry into my toiletry bag (my favorite watch, and two favorite necklaces). Another sad thing that's lost: my Stephenie Meyer signed copy of Eclipse. Can you imagine a new thieving scam set up in airport baggage claims? I'm picturing someone nonchalantly picking up a bag off the belt and walking off to the nearest pawn shop. Pawing anything that looks worthwhile and dumping the rest in the trash.
Should I be so hasty to judge fellow Americans? I just wonder how long it takes someone to realize they have the wrong luggage, and once they realize they've taken the wrong bag will they return it? The longer it takes for the airlines to call us the less hope I have that the bag will be found.
Monday, January 12, 2009
My Friends
I love and miss my friends.
Yesterday and Saturday was a whirlwind trip through the Springs. We felt loved, appreciated, and missed. While we were en route to our fourth get-together of the day we prepped Toby on who we were going to see next and he said "I get to see all my friends." It hurt my heart because we really haven't made friends yet in CT--for him or for us.
Our friends are fantastic and we couldn't be doing what we're doing in CT without the love and support of our friends and family.
Yesterday and Saturday was a whirlwind trip through the Springs. We felt loved, appreciated, and missed. While we were en route to our fourth get-together of the day we prepped Toby on who we were going to see next and he said "I get to see all my friends." It hurt my heart because we really haven't made friends yet in CT--for him or for us.
Our friends are fantastic and we couldn't be doing what we're doing in CT without the love and support of our friends and family.
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