Summer Travel

I started to write about our 2012 trips in mid-August when I realized I hadn't.
Then I was looking through the draft file; I never finished writing the post!
Come on! Crazy ridiculous! Now I won't remember most of the fun crazy details.

Like Julia vomiting on the flight from Nashville to Baltimore as we descended.
Oh, yeah, that one is memorable, not likely to forget that one for a long time! : )
Especially as our destination was Boston & we had to make a connecting flight.
That was fun stripping down my 3 year old in the very narrow space, using the wipes & wet bag.
Thank goodness we always have extra clothes in their back packs!
Hoping passengers are not inhaling noxious smells of early morning ingestion of yogurt & OJ vomit!
I thought I was going to hurl as I begged Julia not to touch me - "Mother of Year" award for me! : )

Thankfully Jacqueline slept peacefully in Jai's arms.
Then we had to disembark with a nasty car seat & our carry-on bags & find a bathroom quickly.
We found an open family bathroom & washed Julia again & scrubbed the seat as best possible.
As we walked quickly to our next gate, we hear announcement to board OUR plane to Beantown.
Now we're running!

Actually everything went alright though Julia kept asking for food; Jai & I simultaneously said NO.
We arrived, got rental vehicle, drove to Wellesley, got checked into dorm, ready for reunion activities.
Luckily we had some time since we'd left Nashville so early & arrived in Boston in early afternoon.
We washed all of the vomit clothes & car seat cover & cleaned the seat again.
We had to drive that evening since we had dinner plans with my Wellesley pals.
We had some time to rest before the class mixer, luckily downstairs in the dorm.
20th class reunion at Wellesley was great, lots of fun catching up with my friends & their spouses.
Kids love playing with their "cousins" & of course showing Julia the campus was awesome!
Class of 2031, sadly not 2032 which would mean we'd have the same reunion year.
Jac is Class of 2034, not again not a 2 or 7 ending year so not same reunion year for either girls. : (

Monday through Friday we rented a beach house in east coast Newburyport community.
We picked up Susie at her friend's place outside Boston & Bonnie at the bus station in Arlington.
Then we drove the hour or so to Plum Island.
Not the best beach weather, bit of rain, chilly temps, but nice to be somewhere different, love MA.
It also was good family time too, lots of rest, walks on the beach, good eats, even found a local farm!
See photo of Julia in her eclectic layered look, smiling big near the llama Ferninand.

Friday we headed to western MA for weekend wedding of my younger cousin, Carrie & her fiance, Jay.
That was tons of fun too. We got to see lots of family, most of whom had not meet Jacqueline.

By the time we returned home, it had been almost 2 weeks & we were glad to be there.
I know we went somewhere in July, but I cannot remember.
Not as memorable as the vomit flight! : )

Disclaimer = this post was written in June 2013!

Swim Lessons

It's started! We have become the "soccer mom/dad" stereotype & we only have a 3 year old. Actually after listening to some other parents for the past few months, we're actually kind of late compared to activities other children are doing. Soccer, T-ball, ballet, gymnastics, there are so many choices & that's not even including the obvious choice of TENNIS. I've already checked on those classes & she needs to be 4 or 5. : )

Really it is the magic number 3 for most of these activities & she didn't turn 3 until December. Then we had the baby in January so we knew it would be slightly delayed, closer to her being 4. Kind of like when she started the Parent Day Out program as we wanted to wait. Also similar is that it has been motivated by seeing a great need for Julia. She has a lot of energy, maybe not more than a typical 3 year old, but whew, we're tired looking at her run around the house.

This summer we've gone to the pool a few mornings each week & realized that she needed some lessons. Even though I've been taking her to the pool since she was 6 months old, she hadn't had any formal or really informal lessons. Jai & I each earned a free swim lesson during this Y Rewards program in 2010-11 & it ended last October so we still had these 2 vouchers to use. Technically they told us they had expired when we went to use them, but I argued since there wasn't an expiration date printed on the voucher. I go to the Y almost every day & you know it helps to know people & talk with them, use their names, be friendly, plus it's good PR for them. After her 2 free private lessons, we signed her up for 2 series of Group Lessons.

Seriously we have to keep this girl busy!
Soccer registration is in mid-July at the Y.
We're going to Dance East's Open House in July.
There's also a free trial lesson at gymnastics class in Madison/Rivergate area.
Most of these would be once a week for semester at least.

None of this is cheap, but it is so worth it as Julia learns new physical skills as well as the social interactions & the skills that go with those experiences. She really has blossomed quickly in her swimming skills, helped by her adventurous/no fear attitude. Another reason to teach her to swim - she really wants to jump into the deep end of the pool just as in life. Whew! She's a live wire & I love her for her spunk. Reminds me of someone ... : )

Sisters are Great

This is an old post (I hadn't written anything just the title as usual) from a few months ago yet an appropriate one as my sister was in town for 2 weeks (she left today) & the previous 2 weeks we were together in MA. I believe I originally meant to write something in reference to Julia & Jacqueline & how glad I am that they have each other as sisters are great. I love having a sister & I hope my girls enjoy having a sister as much as I have. I think they will be based on how they already interact with each other. It is especially sweet to watch them currently as Jacqueline is much more engaging with Julia, more reciprocal, whereas before Julia was doing most of the work with her song/dance routine. The other day Jacqueline grabbed Julia's hair when she got in her face too close, not that Jacqueline was upset, she's just grabbing at things now & Julia's hair was there. It was funny! We shall see how it goes - it will be interesting!

I miss my sister already, really enjoyed hanging out with her every day for most of June. She was incredibly helpful too with caring for the girls & cleaning our house & buying groceries. Hopefully we'll see each other in Chicago in a few months - that's the plan. Then we're planning to go to Phoenix in March 2013 for a week during Spring Break as we get 2 weeks off this school year.

I'm glad I have a sister.