Monday, July 20, 2009

Really? Really?

I came across this article http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/A-Tale-of-Two-Kellys.html?yhp=1

I am predicting eventual divorce. I am sure the same name thing won't cause any problems. . .

Fuck You Doing?

I live with a parrot and as most of you know I hate birds. However, this parrot is not of the feathered variety but a very cute 21 month old who is at the point in her life where she repeats everything she hears.

She must ask me 15 times a day "Mommy you doing?" to which I usually reply driving, dishes, laundry, hanging out with my little Lady, etc. . . she then repeats the last thing I say and then asks over and over again what I am doing. I know she is just building up her vocab and it is really great that she talks so much because it makes my life much easier. Today she has a little fever. Her 2 year molars are coming in and when I went in her room 15 minutes after I put her down for her nap she told me "sick, medicine" then I realized it was actually time for some more Motrin, proceeded to pump her full of it and am hoping for a long nap!

However, the problem lies when she not only repeats everything but doesn't forget anything that she has heard.

Case in point. We are driving back from the beach last weekend. The Lady had passed out in her car seat for the first 45 min or so of the trip, but has just woken up. We are about 25 minutes from home and she is getting restless in the back seat. Traffic is backed up, it is like a hundred degrees outside and she is insisting on taking on and off her shoes. I cannot turn around because my belly is so big so my husband is continually trying to fix her shoes while driving.

Now, some of you have had the pleasure of driving with my husband. I wouldn't say that I don't feel safe per se. . . it is just that some days you have to pray a little bit when you are sitting shot gun and a little bit more when you are in the back. He isn't a bad driver, but sometimes he is just overly aggressive and a little too concerned with what other people are doing on the road. He also reaches back and puts on a two year old's shoes while driving in traffic on 95, sometimes answers e-mails on his blackberry and every once in a while will make a left hand turn on a red arrow.

Anyway, because he will eventually read this post--in about three months, when he finally gets around to checking this site, I will say that I love him and I am grateful for all the times he has gotten me home safe and sound. I will also say that he has a slight case of road rage and doesn't realize how often he curses while he drives, so when he yelled out "What the fuck are you doing?" to some random driver on 95, the parrot in the backseat repeated it. The two of us of course thought this was funny. She only said it the one time and we knew she didn't have any real concept of the words she was using. She was only repeating what she had heard.

I didn't think anything more of it until the other day when I was at my parents house. The Lady and the Wild Man both have Cozy coupes at their grandparents house and when the Lady and I arrived, she of course pointed out "mines" and got in. What I wasn't prepared for was when she beeped the horn and said "fuck you doing?" At first I wasn't sure if I heard what I thought I heard. Not only did she remember what my husband said, she remembered that it took place in the car. I called him immediately at work and then told everyone in the house.

A few hours later the Lady and the Wild Man were in their respective coupes. I was trying to read the Arts section of the Times. My parents and my brother were watching the kids and the Lady, just to make sure that everyone heard her, and to actually confirm my fear that she not only remembered what my husband said but remembered the context, beeped her horn and said "fuck you doing?" about three times in a row.

What do you do when that happens? Laugh, of course, but behind the newspaper or a closed hand, or by turning around, but how do you discipline that? I asked her what she said and instead of repeating what she said, she just repeated my question to her back to me. So I left it alone that is until we get back in the car. . .

A Quick List

So here is a quick recap of a few of the other things that we have been up to since the beginning of July.

The Lady and I are making a very conscious effort to get to more of the Mom's Club play dates and to become more involved. I still only know 5 women by name and sight but it is better than none.

After 6 years of living in CT and after 5 summers of seeing the Shakespeare on the Sound signs around town, my husband and I finally picked a night, got a babysitter and headed down to the sound for a showing of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Of course when we got there, the show was cancelled because a storm had blown in earlier in the day and all the electricity was out to only that one little area of town where the performance was to take place. This wouldn't have been so bad, had this actually not been the second time that this had happened to me in my attempt to view some outdoor Shakespearean theatre. However, since we had the babysitting in place we decided to take in a movie and hit up the local multi-plex for a showing of "The Hangover," which was super funny and only the third movie I have seen in the theatre at that point in almost two years. We finally made it to the last showing of the summer along with my brother and my sister in law the following week!

LI Play date: The Lady and I headed out to LI to meet up with the CNY girls and a couple of really cute kids from Brooklyn. The Lady is really into the big girls and they were so great with her, however, she only took a 25 minute nap, so things got a little hairy towards the end of the night with her. Here is a pic of the kids in their pjs.



Harry Potter: Since my little sister hates Harry Potter we left her at home to babysit and took her boyfriend to the movies along with my brother and SIL. Ah Harry, the teenage angst and budding love. The movie was pretty good and I was actually amazed to have seen two movies in the course of two weeks. I am assuming I won't be back in an actual theatre until at least 2011.

In between we have met up with other friends and family and I have made a real effort to spend some time with the Lady before her life (and mine) gets turned a bit upside down by this next kid, which I am eagerly anticipating and hoping arrives sooner rather than later!

Beach, Beach and More Beach

It amazes me how much quicker the day actually goes by when you have something to do and people to do it with.

I was lucky enough to spend over a week at the beach in New London and then another long weekend there as well the following week. I have decided that it is much easier to carry on conversations and get things done with three to five other adults in the house and with other kids the Lady can play with.

Granted, I heard her screech "No, mines" about a hundred times a day and some days were easier then others in terms of getting everybody out of the house and to the beach, but just to have the access to the beach, to a park, to a nice neighborhood walk--heck even to a patch of grass bigger than a postage stamp really made all the difference.

For as many people as we packed into the beach house on certain days, it still felt like we had our own space and coming back to the four walls we have surrounded ourselves with for the past five years and realizing that we have to add another babe to the mix is starting to sink in with me.

Powerball--when will you grace me with your sweet lovin?

We are very lucky that for the past 33 years we have spent time at the beach with our family. It is a tradition that my cousins and I are hoping to carry on for at least another 33 years or more. So each July we pack the car and drag all the babies to the beach. Here is a pic of all of the cousins (minus the little mad man who was sleeping).
The Lady, The Big Guy, Bunny, The Twins, The Wild Man, LJ, and the Brown Bear

Here is one of the Mad Man in full NL beach gear.







Birthday Wishes

Some B-day wishes for the month of July

Happy Belated to the Brown Bear. This little guy turned 2 on the 13th and couldn't be any cuter!

Happy 5th birthday to another lovely little lady from CNY. Looking forward to seeing you this weekend.
Happy 2nd as well to an LI lady, whose mom is expecting again in August. Gracinda--send a pic and I will post it here!

I hope everyone had a great day!

To My Neglected Readers

Hey, I am sorry. I actually got out of the house for a few weeks and have been enjoying the sunny weather and the time I have gotten to spend with friends and family.

Should I be a more diligent blogger? Yes, and I truly apologize. Let's get you updated. . . .

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Wet N' Wild

The Lady and I arrived at the beach mid-morning on Monday. We pulled up to the house and were greeted by cousins, kids and more importantly a clear blue sky, essentially the perfect beach day. We dragged all of our stuff out of the car and then down to the beach and played and sunned for most of the day. Finally. The weather was great, there were distractions for each of us and the vacay I had been anticipating for months had finally begun.

Tuesday was more of the same. We started the day out with a big walk with C-Bear and the big guy. I will have to say that it took a bit longer than usual, due to the fact that I can barley haul my body around anymore, but it was really nice to get out.

We lubed up the babies and headed down to the beach. Although some fog moved in the sun shone through and again we got some QT at the beach.

The plan for today was going to be different. We have to pick up our newly engaged Michigan girl at the airport mid-day and we knew that the weather report was iffy, so we decided on an early morning at Mystic Aquarium and then afternoon errands and a trip to the airport. What we were not prepared for was a full on deluge of Biblical proportions.

We strapped the Lady and the big guy in the car and headed to the Aquarium. I promised the Lady some penguins after watching Diego rescue one this morning and we were off. I even commented to C-Bear that the sun looked like it was peeking through and maybe we could take them to the beach this afternoon.

Mystic Aquarium is great. There are enough exhibits indoor and out to keep you occupied. We started off watching the Beluga whales getting fed. The Lady insisted on calling them dolphins. One thing the Aquarium doesn't have is dolphins. C-Bear and I nicknamed one Ron, because he was so large and his underbelly was had so many ridges on it that had it been wearing a brown t-shirt, he could have been Ron from the Biggest Loser's doppelganger.

We moved on to the sea lions and then the thunder started. We moved inside saw the "silver moony" fish and the sharks. Note to all of you who are interested in working at an Aquarium, at the shark tank there was a young girl sitting with a clip board in her hand, who had to wait and mark down when each shark pooped. Out of the seven sharks only one had pooped so far. I guess somebody has to do that type of thing, but dear lord, I am glad it wasn't me.

After that we headed to the sea lion show. I will say both kids were very well behaved. We didn't have strollers and we left our diaper bags in the car, so there was really nothing to distract them except the sea lions themselves and the two of them made it through with little whinging and whining.

The problems started when we left the show. The kids were almost done, the Lady started the whole jelly body thing, where she just melts in your arms. She either wanted me to hold her or let her run free in the Aquarium, oh and outside was a monsoon. The water was just rushing down the outdoor overhangs and pretty much blocking any exit out of the Aquarium without soaking us all.

The Lady of course wants to play in the puddles. There is thunder and lightning and we tried in vain to distract them in the Aquarium store, but there is only so many times you can hand them a plush turtle and then tell them that they aren't leaving with it. So a plan was hatched. Since we drove in my car and C-Bear can't drive stick (well, a stick shift car, we all know she is well versed in pole work.) I was going to make a run for it, pull the car around to the drop-off area, open up the huge golf umbrella we have in the trunk and help escort the kids to a dry zone in the car. Did I mention it was freaking ridiculously raining out, that I am 8 months pregnant and was wearing flip flops? However, the decision was clear, either get soaked or stand inside with two kids, who clearly were not able to deal. In actuality C-Bear might have had the harder job, she had to watch the two of them while I drove around.

So, I took the plunge. I was lucky enough to be able to run (or waddle, like a duck) under an awning to the area where the car was parked. The problem was that it was parked on a lower level and I was going to have to lower myself down over about a 4ft high wall to get to the car. Just picture it, the slow motion run through the rain and puddles, then me, lowering myself over the side of a rock wall. I would like to say that I had the grace and agility of a male Chinese gymnast on the pummel horse, casually throwing his legs over the side, while supporting his weight on his hands. What it looked like in actuality was something quite different and after kneeling down and dangling for a moment, while my back got soaked in the rain, I finally hit the ground and landed in about ankle deep water.

The entire parking lot was flooded in about a foot and a half of water. I had to drive through it in order to get to the drop off point and as an SUV made its way towards me, I got caught it its wake. Waves were crashing over the hood of my car, the defrost was on level five and full blast heat, the wipers were whipping across the windshield and I was totally drenched. I was finally able to pull around, find Bear and the kids, pop the trunk and head over with the umbrella. We got them both in without soaking the two of them anymore then they already were after jumping in puddles and we headed out.

The weather cleared a bit on the drive home and we thought that the worst had passed. However, as I sit here watching the rain fall in a steady stream outside, the cable has gone out and with it the opportunity to finish watching "Make It or Break It "on ABC Family. We still have to drive up to Providence and pick up our cousin in this rain and I am hoping that the Lady will nap. Let's hope the cable comes back for "So You Think You Can Dance" and that the sun comes out tomorrow.