quack quack

Our last day in Boston we were as touristy as you can get. We rode the Ducks. Nate was so excited (can you see the sarcasm in his face?)

Question: What's that? How does one ride a duck?
Answer: One does it quite easily when the duck looks like this:

Question: Who drives those things?
Answer: Sometimes superheros (however, ours wasn't, this guy was the driver of the next tour, ours is kind of hidden behind the white beams wearing a Hawaiian shirt)

Question: What does one see on a Duck Tour?
Answer: All the sights one did not see while one was in a conference center. However, the pictures one takes on such a tour are so crooked and blurry, one will not post them here.

The fun part of the tour for Nate (besides sitting so very close to me) was seeing so much of Boston - the different neighborhoods, various Freedom Trail sights, and cruising out on the Charles River. The fun part of the tour for me was to realize I had seen just about everything we saw on the tour during my few days of Boston-gazing. I really got around!


Warning to all Bostonians: We will be back, and next time we will bring the kids.

an irony of our parenthood

It is always ironic to me when our children get sick(ish) and Nate and I are completely surprised by it. This is an especially true feeling when the sickishness occurs somewhere in the upper respiratory system or their ears or their noses for that matter.

The last two nights Jimmy has reminded us of the glory (the terror) of life with a newborn. He was up EVERY hour Friday night, and several hours (in no particular pattern) last night. Why? Did Nate and I figure it out the first night - NO. Of course not. Nate was busy fielding calls about sick people and I was busy trying not to pull my hair out. We weren't even thinking that Jimmy could possibly not be feeling well.

Last night however we thought - hey, maybe he gets extra stuffy while laying down and that's why he's been having such a hard time. Maybe he's too snuffy to breathe and he doesn't like it. Maybe we should follow medical advice (that one of us gives to patients and their families on a regular basis) and prop him up a bit to help him breathe better. Yeah, that's the ticket. Way to go me and Nate. It was nice to finally get it. And it was especially nice for Jimmy.

And as far as J goes, he's really quite fine. Just snuffy. So no worries from the grandparent crowd out there. I just felt I would share one of our little parenting ironies.

news from the cafeteria

Dictionary Entry: "Double Dating"
Used in sentence: "Mom! I was Double Dating at recess today!"
Any guess on the meaning? (answer at bottom of post)

The following is my favorite conversation of yesterday:
It came as a result of the news that the swings and playground equipment were off-limits yesterday at recess due to crazy digging bees. Apparently it is now BORING to be forced to run around and play games on the field. Who knew?

Nate: Don't you chase boys any more?
Grace: DAD!!!!
Me: Nate, she's just much too mature for that now.
Grace: Well, I did chase a boy yesterday.
(DRAMATIC PAUSE) With my EYES!!!!!

Double Dating in Third Grade form is when two swings are swinging in tandem, same level and same rhythm. I think that is the perfect form of Double Dating, especially as it has nothing to do with boys (unless of course they are the ones on the other swing, but usually they are too busy running on the field).

this just in...

I made a real dinner last night (it had dropped 20 degrees, so turning on the oven seemed more of a possibility than it has in YEARS (okay, a couple of months). This dinner was so good, I was stunned with my first bite. The kids even liked it (J ate the chicken, nothing more). And Nate (once he arrived home to eat it) love it. Here it is (originally from Cooking Light, adapted and tweaked by me):

4 chicken quarters (thighs and legs with bones and skin)
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
4 slices bacon
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups torn kale*
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary
2 (16 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14/5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

Preheat oven to 350.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook bacon in an oven-safe pan until crisp. Remove from pan (reserving drippings - yes, even Cooking Light said to do that). Add chicken and brown on each side. Add onion and garlic cloves. Saute until onion is soft. Stir in bacon, kale, rosemary, beans, and tomatoes. Lift chicken to rest on top of beans and vegetables.

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or so (until the chicken is nice and juicy, and done!)
So surprisingly delicious!

*(Grace kept calling it kelp - I'm not sure if that would work here)
Credit: Cooking Light, October 2010, "Tuscan Baked Chicken and Beans"

hot news from home and more touring

I know, you've been just waiting and practicing patience wondering when I'll get around to posting more on my trip. I have to tell you, Boston is a great place.

What's not so great is getting a call at 8:30 a.m. in Boston from your father-in-law in Arizona (that would be 5:30 in AZ) to let you know that not everything is okay and that in fact there may have been a small electrical fire in the attic from the ever aggravating a/c. No body was hurt, the kids slept through it all (no fire alarms and no flames and certainly no firemen - although firemen are always hot, but that's a discussion for another time isn't it?) Needless to say, the rest of my morning was not one of leisure, it was one more leisurely looking on the outside, and panic-stricken on the inside. Within a few hours the a/c dudes (the big guns this time - the owner, himself, and the head of maintenance (my good friend, Bob) had everything under control. They apologized profusely many times to my in-laws. And so far (its been 8 days now) so good. I felt much better after 12:30 when the call came to say those magic words, All is Well. And it was.

So then I remembered I was on vacation. Nate came back around 4 p.m. and we hit the town. We found and took the T and began our small trek on the Freedom Trail. It was amazing to see these historic places - the Old South Meetinghouse, Faneuil Hall (the cradle of Freedom), the steeple where the lanterns were hung which began Paul Revere's famous ride (y'know - one if by land, two if by sea), the church across from the famed steeple whose dome was hammered out by Paul himself, The Green Dragon Tavern... Well I'll just say it was so cool.

We ended our trek in Boston's North End at this tasty Italian restaurant that seemed right out of a movie. I swear Joe Pesci was sitting near us and said goodnight to us as he left (and after looking him up to make sure I spelled his name right, it really was Joe or at least his identical twin). Well we really finished our evening stopping in an Italian bakery (while Nate did a med consult on the phone, but I digress), and found that they do in fact know what cannoli is all about!

Here's some pics of our ye ole' selves and of some ye ole' places...






The next day I got all smart on myself and went to Harvard. Here's my synopsis: snooty, hoity, ivy, old, tasty (cocoa), historical. Stay tuned.

cheers!

Or, I went where not too many people knew my name. Last Saturday Nate and I took a VERY long flight to Boston. It took almost longer to get our luggage (well, not really, but it did take over an hour. I suppose that's another story). We were tired, but we were together, with no children... Let's just leave it at - We Made The Most of It!

Sunday began with Nate hurrying off to his meetings. I scurried off to services at Trinity Church. It was amazing to be there. It was built in the 1800s and I love it.



Later on I decided to walk about and lo and behold I found...

FALL!!! Its real and not just a figment of my memory.

I also saw lots of other cool things. Most of which I took pictures of and perhaps one day I'll show them to you.
The afternoon consisted of a walk through the Public Garden, the Boston Common, a concert by the Boston Pops (so cool), a walk on Beacon Street, window shopping on Newberry, and of course a visit to

I'm leaving!!!!

Tomorrow I am getting on a jet plane and going somewhere the seasons change. It is a town of beans, a town of cream pie, and a town who's socks always seem to be red. A town that looks nothing like my picture above. Any guesses?

have you cleaned your ears out lately?

Dearest Readers,

Please click here . You will be so happy that you did. Or truthfully, I will be happy that you did. You may also note this was done with no Media Training and with no recent hair cuts.

We are still offline, I am not pleased with our phone and internet provider. I will emerge again soon.

Love,
me

call of the wild

I am not an adventurer (or at least one that enjoys adventuring in the great outdoors). The other people I live with are. Although it doesn't really seem so in this particular picture. They were hungry when this was taken. I now think it is very funny, at the time well not so much.

When Nate was little and would bug his mom while she was making dinner she would have him write reports to keep her out of her hair. These reports would always be about Birds of Prey. He was going to be an Ornithologist (or a Tree Surgeon). I suppose Otolaryngology is close - its a long "O" word that no one really knows and he is a surgeon - but one of people, not trees.

Since moving here to our desert oasis we have seen SO MANY BIRDS! So many in fact that we don't have a particular place the binoculars belong. They are just out ALL THE TIME. We have even had emergency runs for the binoculars when say a curved bill thrasher is hoping around the saguaro or something majorly exciting like that.

Today they (the Adventurers) were practicing various bird calls towards the end of dinner. I finally excused them all and sent them on an excursion. They are now bird spotting down the street at the lake (because really with the kids you aren't "watching" the birds, you more or less spot them as they fly away) (the Jr. Adventurers aren't necessarily quiet as they approach the wildlife and for some reason the birds seem to fly away in haste).

While they are gone, I believe I am going to sneak one of Grace's Lindt truffles her Primary teacher gave them on Sunday. She really won't notice and let's be serious - she cannot appreciate a good truffle just yet. Perhaps when she is more settled in her bird watching and calling hobby I might introduce her to the beauty of good chocolate (I think I'll save The Beauty of Fine Chocolate until she's older).

it has begun, or it has resumed

The last few months have been incredible. One of the incredible things has been the lack of Call. However, last night was his third Call night. Since he had no hospital or practice communications during his first two nights - I knew we were in for it.

Sure enough, 40 minutes after going to bed the Call came. And it was a true throw-on-your-scrubs-don't-even-attempt-to-comb-your-hair-and-just-get-out-of-the-door emergency. He was gone for 2 1/2 hours (not so bad, really). Forty-five minutes later another Call comes. This time (thanks to fabulous technology - CAT scan downloaded at home) he didn't have to go in, he did however do a 30-plus minute over-the-phone consult. At 3:15 a.m.

We've been training for this for at least a decade. Two months off is certainly not enough to throw us off our game; it is long enough to allow me to have hope that one eventful Call night will be far and few between.

Author's Note: Call can be so disruptive to regular life I've decided it deserves a capital C. Thanks for allowing my crazy punctuation and capitalization, it makes me happy.

extortion or bribery? doesn't matter, i guess

There is a young man who refuses to partake of any vegetable or fruit (unless it is the juice of an apple). To ensure he takes a vitamin I have decided to offer a chocolate chip cookie as reward. This will occur on a daily basis.

I am totally okay with this course of action.

somewhere

(To be sung to the familiar tune: Somewhere over the Rainbow, Judy Garland style)

(Melody)
Somewhere over (or perhaps under) the rainbow
The wind is cool.
One's a/c unit works
And so does someone's pool.

Not here, in Arizona
Skies are hot.
My a/c works but the ceiling rains
Really quite a lot.

(Bridge)
Someday my pool man will come
And with him he will bring the parts required
To fix my pool vac and then
The gunk and junk will meet their end.

(Melody)
Somewhere out there I know the
Pina Coladas come
With pink umbrella adornments
And plenty of shade from the sun.

(Author's note: you may infer that I am hot, this leads to unfortunate alternate song lyrics. Please don't judge.)

temporary insanity

Dearest Readers,
Please forgive the insane nature of my previous post. Let's put it under the category of "Mothering Guilt" (raise your hand if you've ever suffered under its effects). Nate and I will be heading to the east coast in a few weeks. While he is discussing the interiors of other people's heads, necks, ears, throats, nasal glands and sinus features - I will be sight-seeing, reading whatever I want, and sleeping in. I will be partaking of room-service, I will find the nearest spa, and I will not cut my trip short.

Your Most Repentant,
me

choices

I'm interested in your opinion. I have a chance to get out of town with Nate - with NO children. I'm excited about this and I think the kids are too (they will have lots of attention from some grandparents during that time). However, by skipping town I will also be missing out on the kids' Primary program (this is the children's service that the kids 3-11 do once a year - it involves speaking parts and lots of songs). This will be Jimmy's first one (although he has sung with the kids at other times during the year - Mother's Day being one). If you had a chance to be in my shoes would you
a: buy new shoes and skip town and let the grandparents revel in the kids' glory
b: buy a new plane ticket, cut your trip short, and be there for the event
c: cancel everything with Nate, see the kids perform, and then buy lots of new shoes with your "saved" dough

geographic theology

Today Jimmy said that Jesus lives in a town called Heaven. I thought you should know.

the center

You may know a little about this gal and if you know just a little, you know she LIVES for the spotlight, for drama, for fun, and for all of this with an amazing amount of enthusiasm. I figured when we moved here I'd see if there was a little community theater she could be somewhat involved in. Well, there is. And it isn't so little.

By the time we got here (and then got back from all of our traveling) we had missed all the summer camps and things, but were just in time for auditions for The Wiz. We've never auditioned for anything! We have no head shots, no resume, no dance experience (outside of our living room or of course Rachel's wedding). That's okay, they say. We love to find new talent, they say. Just have her prepare 32 bars of an upbeat song and come prepared to sing. Okay, we say.

Grace is so very excited, and knows that she's up against kids that have been doing these sorts of things for years. But this is a chance to sing her guts out in front of other people! What could be better than that?!!?!

Nate and Jimmy take her to the audition (Jimmy was most insistent he went). While the boys waited in the hall, Grace marched into the room, handed them her music, and performed. It lasted a whole two minutes. How did it go? "It was AWESOME!" she says. The theater coordinator of auditions (not quite sure what her job is called) said, "well, that's what the directors really like - confidence!" Well, we've got that, sister.

The next day she called us back for Call Backs.
That was last night. We'll see...

In the meantime we'll say "Break a Leg, Girl!"

where is our mother?

I'm right here. But you don't notice me as much because I am sick. Strep this time. Seems that 2010 is not my most excellent year of health. At least it is one of those things that drugs work wonders on.

I came down with it on our weekend away with Nate's extended family. Usually I am the one not as enthusiastic about all of our outdoor adventuring. This time I thought I was especially grumpy about it. 12 hours later a high fever confirmed that at least I had a right to feeling grumpy about traversing over slippery, hard rocks submerged under freezing cold water in 100 degree temps.

The next day I had a free "I Pass On This Adventure" ticket, fevers are good for that. I missed a long hike (long by my standards and the kids' standards, coupled with the high heat). Jimmy came back all sweaty and said he had been on a long, long hunt. I wondered if it was a/c he had been hunting for?

Monday began a busy week. Grace headed to school, Nate was home long enough to see her off (what?!!? yes, I love his new job). Jimmy and I tried to find our way to the insta-care clinic (yes, we so need real doctors). But we couldn't go. The car wouldn't start. Seriously. Nate called AAA (I was basically unable to because by that point if I spoke it resulted in tears and that's not the best way to communicate with mechanics). They came, changed the battery, and all has been fine.

We ventured forth to the clinic. One look inside my throat and she says, "oh my!" Instant strep test confirms our suspicions. Rx is written. Oh, and my fever finally broke on the way over to the clinic.

My cute German neighbor invites both kids to come over and play for the afternoon. I sleep for three hours. Nate comes home. His evening meeting was cancelled. He takes the kids to Grace's audition (I'll tell you more about that later).

Life is good and will continue to be so.

my girl

She was most insistent on taking the bus her first day. She was most insistent on wearing her brand new shoes to school (who could blame her? They were sparkly rainbow sneakers with an under-current of cheetah print. They were awesome). She was most insistent on bringing her lunch in her new lunch box in her new backpack.

Well forty minutes after I expected her home, her bus shows up without her on it. One minute later an unexpected bus shows up behind it with one tough cookie on it. The school put her on the wrong bus and she had quite a tour of Scottsdale. The driver told me she must be brave. She told them she was okay and somehow managed to fight back the tears.

Once parked in front of our house, she leaped out of the bus to me and wouldn't let go. We said goodbye to the bus and the tears started to flow.
"They put me on the wrong bus!"
"My new shoes hurt my feet!"
"I couldn't find my lunch in my backpack!"
"I was so scared."

Do you know what this girl of mine did? She prayed on that bus that they would find her home. She ate her lunch for a snack at home (which was in her bag the entire time ("Well, my backpack smelled like lunch - I just couldn't find it. I thought someone must have taken it!"). She did her homework ("Can you believe we have homework on the first day?!").

Then this morning she woke up and told Jimmy, "I don't have time to play, Buv. I've got to catch my bus."
I said, "Grace, are you sure you want to take the bus today? I'll be happy to drive you."
Grace, "No problem, Mom. I can do it. I'll be on the right one for sure today! But how about I buy lunch again today, it was so good yesterday!"

My, oh my. What an awesome girl I have!

bonding

We just love Grandma Shirly!

ps Bonus Points if you can tell me what her husband name was!

shhhhh, Nate makes me laugh

Jimmy seemed to sleep a lot more than usual in the car this past month.

He often would be in strange positions and look hilarious.

However, it was only when Nate decided to impersonate him did the true hilarity ensue.

I'm such a lucky woman!