tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192164192024-02-20T14:32:08.373-05:00Other Pieces of MeCoasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.comBlogger367125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-66305309557812562132013-06-15T21:15:00.002-04:002013-06-15T21:16:01.622-04:00PSA Have you moved from Google Reader yet?<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2704352/?claim=dc9w26tnsak">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a><br />
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Actually, you don't have to...but if you hadn't noticed Google Reader is closing up in a couple of weeks and I am not a fan of Feedly so someone suggested I try Bloglovin and so far it's working pretty well. So if you're as much of a procrastinator as I am and you haven't figured out what you're going to do on July 1, give Bloglovin a try.Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-69672515260168292782013-05-10T12:59:00.000-04:002013-05-10T12:59:48.694-04:00ReflectionThere's a woman sitting with her son in the cafeteria of the Children's Museum. She looks harried and distracted as she hastily sets out their lunch. Her tall, dimple-cheeked son with the blond streak in his hair is fighting back an overstimulated, tired and hungry rage. She's trying to keep herself from losing her shit. In less than an hour, they will be home and he will drag himself into his bed and rest and she will regroup. The woman glances up and sees our little tribe. <div>
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Little G, Ladybug and I are enjoying our meal. Little G is busy gulping down orange macaroni and cheese with a carton of chocolate milk. Ladybug is being her typical, reserved self while I unhurriedly nosh on a bite of my gourmet sandwich and check my email on my phone. I feel the woman's eyes on me and remember her jealousy. How could I possible be sitting here on my own with not just one, but TWO small children. How could those children be just eating and not throwing stuff or trying to bite someone? How come it is so easy for me? How could I possibly ever know what she is going through? She doesn't even know me, but she is resentful of me and my ease.</div>
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There's a woman at the playground packing up her things. She's given multiple notices to a tall, dimple-cheeked boy with a blond streak in his hair to finish up what he is doing in preparation for leaving. The boy has been playing well all afternoon, so the entire playground stops to glance nervously when he starts lunging after his mother, screaming at her and trying to bite her now that the time has come to leave. The boy's cherub-faced baby sister waits patiently by the gate. It is hard for the woman to keep back her tears. She knows she pushed it being at the playground so close to dinner time and after a rigorous day at school.</div>
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The woman quickly glances around between swings and jabs at her cheeks as she hefts the overwhelmed boy away. She is looking for someone. Another mother, perhaps. Someone who will be looking back at her knowingly. She doesn't find her, but she moves forward into the evening faithful that she will meet her someday. </div>
Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-28706218349403483772013-04-10T11:55:00.004-04:002013-04-10T11:55:55.925-04:00A voice in the grayRecently an internet friend of mine wrote a small piece on her blog addressing two things about her anti-depressants that truly resonated with me.<br />
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Here's a small excerpt:<br />
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… so much to say. Except, well, not. So, hey, let’s talk about anti-depressants, since I suspect that’s why I don’t have a whole lot to say. </blockquote>
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I’m still on them. I have no idea at what point I have to cop to this being “depression” without the “post-partum” prefix... </blockquote>
Honestly, I feel like I could have written that entire statement. <br />
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It hasn't escaped me that aside from some bad poetry, there's been a pretty big radio silence here on this blog. Usually when people 'come back' after an unplanned hiatus, they spend at least a sentence apologizing for said absence and then either resolve to come around more or to dissolve their internet presence <br />
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I am not here to do either of those things, so don't quit on me yet.<br />
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Anyway, though I seem to be aimlessly floating around in this ambiguous cloud of writer's block, there really IS so much to say about so many things in my life. Not the least of which are my medication and how it has transformed my life; Little G's SPD diagnosis and how we are struggling with that and learning more about it every day; how much I wish I could talk to my former self about all of this - my medication AND Little G's struggle - so that I wouldn't have felt so lost, defeated and judged (I was actually convinced that I was less of a mother than women who's hard times with their kids seemed easier than mine were) and how my beautiful, little baby girl is no longer a baby.<br />
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There's so much to say; but aside from this small snippet, I can't seem to say much about any of it. Almost like the medication has whisked away the need to process things in favor of just not having anxiety or thrill over things in the first place; like my mind, which used to be full of thoughts both hauntingly dark and brilliantly bright with every vivid color in between, is now a vast, murky, gray swirl - like trying to grab a fleck of dust out of a water glass where every time you get closer, the dust flits away.<br />
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And I too am starting to realize that the "post-partum" designation of my anxiety and reactivity is set to expire soon if it hasn't done so already. I'd be more concerned over that, but I'm on medication.<br />
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So where does that leave me? I am unsure. This space has always been first and foremost a place for my voice because I do have things to say and I have always needed a place to process 'out loud' in a creative way. But if there's nothing to process, or rather, if there's a LOT to process but I just can't seem to 'get there', than is this space really necessary?<br />
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I don't know the answer to this and I have no sense of conviction either way. But I did at least have the words to process <i>this</i> here, so perhaps there is hope for this voice in the gray.Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-41130648934149595882013-04-04T14:03:00.001-04:002013-04-04T14:03:53.067-04:00Poetic JusticeYou didn't yell at me. <div>
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You didn't strike out at me. </div>
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You didn't shoot bullets at me. </div>
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You didn't preach to me.</div>
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You didn't shun me.</div>
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But you wished I would be silent.</div>
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No.</div>
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No, love.</div>
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No love.</div>
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I speak.</div>
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Love.</div>
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I. speak. love.</div>
Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-44537104119043315112013-03-06T22:38:00.001-05:002013-03-06T22:39:18.323-05:00Filling the Bucket<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There are all sorts of books and manipulatives and toys in the waiting area of an office I visit weekly with Little G. One such book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fill-Bucket-Guide-Daily-Happiness/dp/1933916435/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z" target="_blank">Fill a Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Young Children</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWDYOgHWzHusTE7vEKlH8GCiCr8ZcM3SOAK_uM3kW94ch2syhMshJ8TulhK6ijUzcWXEycUXawe2h6kNkgVUD6mRPzn7w3IybfDfwYvIBxnuTaScxitJ75eB6QODW39Bss-As/s1600/Fill+a+Bucket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWDYOgHWzHusTE7vEKlH8GCiCr8ZcM3SOAK_uM3kW94ch2syhMshJ8TulhK6ijUzcWXEycUXawe2h6kNkgVUD6mRPzn7w3IybfDfwYvIBxnuTaScxitJ75eB6QODW39Bss-As/s1600/Fill+a+Bucket.jpg" /></a></div>
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The inside of the flap says: <span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The concept of a full bucket is an effective metaphor for a child's healthy self-concept and happiness, most often the result of the encouraging words and actions of parents and others who help a child know they are loved, valued, and capable.</span></blockquote>
The Ladybug and I read the book while waiting for Little G to finish his appointment and he asked me about it as he headed towards us in the waiting area. <br />
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I explained to him as best I could what the bucket was all about and what people did to fill our buckets (play with us, read to us, treat us kindly) and what we can do to fill others' buckets (be kind to them, treat them with respect, help them if they need it, etc).<br />
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Later in the day as we played in the living room, The Ladybug took a small spill onto the floor. I encouraged Little G to help comfort her and perhaps fill her bucket. So Little G promptly walked over to The Ladybug and started pretending to dig with a big shovel and dump it over her head. I reminded him that filling her bucket could mean helping her to feel better to which he responded, "Ladybug, you can be happy now, I'm filling your bucket with CANDY!"Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-77568819365061739012012-12-20T15:22:00.000-05:002012-12-20T15:22:11.462-05:00Kindness Matters: A ConversationMy husband has our car for the day, so I have packed up our kids and all of our things for the day into the stroller - the Ladybug riding in the seat and Little G standing on the "scooter". We are headed to the Boston Children's Museum. It opens at 10, but if we take the next train, we won't get there until close to 11 and then we won't have significant time to do all of the things I know Little G will want to do. So we leave early and walk in the significantly cold morning the .7 miles to the train station. <br />
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We are standing and waiting on the only platform that accommodates strollers/wheelchairs and Little G is throwing all of the weight of his 3.5 year-old status at me this morning and refusing to wear his hat or mittens, yet remaining very upset about the cold. Because he is whining and lets out a yell at me, I tell him that if it happens again, we are going home and he expresses his frustration at that statement, but settles down. The train pulls up to the platform and we bustle onto the car.<br />
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A well-dressed, older businessman seated at the door into the car touches my arm and says brusquely, "this is the quiet car."<br />
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I respond, "I know". <br />
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A few months ago they designated the car closest to the engine a quiet car. Passengers are asked to silence cell phones, speak in hushed voices and turn down the volume on electronic devices.<br />
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The man is persistant, "you can not be here".<br />
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"Why?", I ask.<br />
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"<i>They</i> can't be in here", he sneers, pointing at Little G and the Ladybug.<br />
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"They'll be fine", I assure him, pointedly. Passengers are waiting behind me to board. Little G has started up the aisle that I know I don't fit down with the stroller. People are stealing glances at us from their SmartPhones. <br />
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"I <i>saw</i> him on the platform. <i>He</i> can't be quiet", he continues to sneer, gesturing to Little G.<br />
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"<i>You</i>, have no idea if he can be quiet or not," I say curtly, my face starting to flush. "This conversation is over."<br />
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I enter the car further and have to call Little G back towards me. A woman gets up so that we can sit next to the window and the Ladybug can stay in her stroller. We are one seat away from the angry man.<br />
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"Little G," I ask, whispering, "The man who was speaking to mommy isn't acting nicely and he doesn't think that you can be quiet on the train. But I KNOW you can be quiet on the train. Let's see if we can prove that man wrong."<br />
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I ask him if he'd like a granola bar. He does. I locate one in our bag and give the Ladybug 1/4 of it to keep her happy and I say a little prayer that we make it to South Station.<br />
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The conductor stops by to collect our fare and tells me that the man has no right to tell us we can't be there. Only she has the authority to do that and there's no room elsewhere for a stroller, so we're fine. She apologizes that the people in the quiet car tend to jump on others.<br />
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We ride into the city and not one word is said from my 3.5-year-old son; not a peep is made from my 14 month old daughter - for the entirety of the train ride until we start to pull in to Back Bay. Little G whispers as we pull into the station, "Mommy, why was that man talking mean to you?" <br />
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"Little G, that man might be having a tough morning, or he might not be feeling well. Something in his heart might not feel right so he wasn't acting kindly. And that is ok. We can ask God to guard his heart and comfort him. And we can forgive him for not being nice." He goes back to staring out the window.<br />
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As the train stops at Back Bay, the majority of the passengers leave the train. One by one, they pass Little G and the Ladybug and I smile at us. A woman says, "don't let him ruin your day". She waves to us through the window from the platform as she continues on her way.<br />
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The train continues on to its last stop. It is only the man and us at this end of the car. As we pull into the station, he gets up and we start to gather our things. I look in his direction and say, "Sir?"<br />
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Nothing. He faces the door pretending he can't hear me.<br />
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So I continue.<br />
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"Sir, I know you can hear me and it is important for my children to hear me say this: we forgive you and hope your day gets better. I hope that you'll remember this next time."<br />
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He can not leave the train fast enough. Little G, the Ladybug and I wait for the remainder of the passengers to exit the car. The conductor stops by again to apologize and we head out into the cold to the Children's Museum.Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-87030946309948012172012-12-18T12:21:00.001-05:002012-12-18T12:21:23.900-05:00So many hours of my life I will never get back...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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...and totally worth it for the smile alone.</div>
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As are most three-year-old boys, Little G is mildy obsessed with the movie Cars and its star, Lightning McQueen. So when Halloween rolled around, it was not a surprise that he asked to be Lightning. I looked around the internet and only saw one Lightning McQueen costume that was fabric and got low ratings because it was floppy.</div>
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So I took to Pinterest and Google Image and <a href="http://99point1.blogspot.com/2009/10/lightning-mcqueen-costume.html" target="_blank">not only found an AMAZING costume, but a full account of how said costume was made</a>. I procured a stroller box from a friend having a new baby and we were off!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3DgsRjIL_qnmk9275nLD6pIhl7NS5T7ekLhbmwICYc3SbC7O75WO1i9AzVnce_VkOQKpO4ZCrHKtvm7mg-fN1yYakckKzYAlH0FiZ0357W6u37ns6vxkXzbh9jndW3Dmeizq0/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3DgsRjIL_qnmk9275nLD6pIhl7NS5T7ekLhbmwICYc3SbC7O75WO1i9AzVnce_VkOQKpO4ZCrHKtvm7mg-fN1yYakckKzYAlH0FiZ0357W6u37ns6vxkXzbh9jndW3Dmeizq0/s400/IMG_4306.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At this point in the process, Little G couldn't contain his excitement and kept insisting he drive it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47wvp2V8pt6JKPmUK26adSaxxehBrZWMvicnO3wKefdLmluzI-xpL3GiE66GpzYrshMlBt4yWQWmsAzyCq-URVeYb3p8IavPvHFWIaxZKhtTCIIeScTaaqvISVZ7ZBHYjgmf-/s1600/IMG_4344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47wvp2V8pt6JKPmUK26adSaxxehBrZWMvicnO3wKefdLmluzI-xpL3GiE66GpzYrshMlBt4yWQWmsAzyCq-URVeYb3p8IavPvHFWIaxZKhtTCIIeScTaaqvISVZ7ZBHYjgmf-/s400/IMG_4344.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By far, the hardest part of this costume was getting the top of the car cut correctly with the appropriate angles so that it would fold into the right shape.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkFGyEX5AG31hY379e7AEVdSxQMoTSpj69Dmw6j-Bieb-fpZQuoQWrxtCYwCZQp0SC7vXyynwOtjvaKWvZJUauZ3OONOJ1Py_FD0czy_j1eLJLh4zzHCr1sONMUlDHN24RUSS/s1600/IMG_4353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkFGyEX5AG31hY379e7AEVdSxQMoTSpj69Dmw6j-Bieb-fpZQuoQWrxtCYwCZQp0SC7vXyynwOtjvaKWvZJUauZ3OONOJ1Py_FD0czy_j1eLJLh4zzHCr1sONMUlDHN24RUSS/s400/IMG_4353.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once I added the hood, it really started to look like Lightning</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjejf4XxS1gRpjpWfOAUt_ixws6GM720dFJzMa1Oa8tnYIgtbN-UY6SPyzujxA98O3MVTeK4vaXQplcb8e7gtGXwBW3PvM6EFugWP6pfZ909IsDxlCqDLAgll-dCt_eD1uGFh0_/s1600/IMG_4359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjejf4XxS1gRpjpWfOAUt_ixws6GM720dFJzMa1Oa8tnYIgtbN-UY6SPyzujxA98O3MVTeK4vaXQplcb8e7gtGXwBW3PvM6EFugWP6pfZ909IsDxlCqDLAgll-dCt_eD1uGFh0_/s400/IMG_4359.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 coats of primer and three coats of glossy red paint!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zV9e-g349v0m5mE-th_QlnbW5e_fY4TbendE6ZBKioCAQCeXf2PGfcbqHiS7SwcA5nRlFyBaCbZWBAYBljJGBoXjFKdK8g2KtxNjyy6B84kd3TXDs-siazcoD9GqL-rteO-y/s1600/DSC_0266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zV9e-g349v0m5mE-th_QlnbW5e_fY4TbendE6ZBKioCAQCeXf2PGfcbqHiS7SwcA5nRlFyBaCbZWBAYBljJGBoXjFKdK8g2KtxNjyy6B84kd3TXDs-siazcoD9GqL-rteO-y/s400/DSC_0266.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made wheels in Illustrator, got logo graphics from a Cars listserve and printed them and mod podged them on.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-8eKyD1poHHoE6eg9f_wmrupqTvHJhUyXInYkmeBAYzJUbmgtzE1y_dIJ_SpBIyb-ivzTqDUJFb2fseSTakCBgS8T3Q9N92LhMNFeD1JUk37hhpTVwukN_8HGwzclV9HCSpq/s1600/DSC_0314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-8eKyD1poHHoE6eg9f_wmrupqTvHJhUyXInYkmeBAYzJUbmgtzE1y_dIJ_SpBIyb-ivzTqDUJFb2fseSTakCBgS8T3Q9N92LhMNFeD1JUk37hhpTVwukN_8HGwzclV9HCSpq/s400/DSC_0314.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was starting to worry about how I would attach straps until I realized I had a cheap (less than $5) backpack from when Little G was at camp over the summer. I just cut the top and bottom of the backpack off and that allowed the straps to attach from underneath to the car.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMm3fURmkTv-aNKU6_AQHK4i3RXh5SwjmocIIzCE6BmhHsm93wGMHQCGFM79DbjRQLEdeIlU6GyFILk0FdeTTvvtUkhyyYwdqJxvRO9YuACQXqDvt01JqaU9I2bIHa_lWbsxPm/s1600/DSC_0313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMm3fURmkTv-aNKU6_AQHK4i3RXh5SwjmocIIzCE6BmhHsm93wGMHQCGFM79DbjRQLEdeIlU6GyFILk0FdeTTvvtUkhyyYwdqJxvRO9YuACQXqDvt01JqaU9I2bIHa_lWbsxPm/s400/DSC_0313.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Little G and his dad had such a fun time trick-or-treating that the next week he asked me to make him a Tow-Mater costume so we could go out and get candy from people's houses!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhmCKZIWFIL7PbHh7_7gIsDU57cbFR4l_MtsgxeE0JVBLu9YXmiL9skNKqU-n7Of7LL50OW4nSd4bj5QFCg9sleZgMqI4xVM6eF3VCkL_cLnUuYp6jHlpwNm4FnLqpuvojnId/s1600/DSC_0324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhmCKZIWFIL7PbHh7_7gIsDU57cbFR4l_MtsgxeE0JVBLu9YXmiL9skNKqU-n7Of7LL50OW4nSd4bj5QFCg9sleZgMqI4xVM6eF3VCkL_cLnUuYp6jHlpwNm4FnLqpuvojnId/s400/DSC_0324.JPG" width="267" /></a></div>
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The only drawback was that our neighborhood is very hilly and many of the houses are up several stairs - most of them are up entire flights of stairs. My poor husband had to carry Little G up and down all of those stairs because Little G couldn't see the ground around his costume...oops.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhL0k4fzDWIBsRdL2N3lj9nBKevriQM6Nb7ylNA1wZtQyToVdm-pGPBTZyo2PjrHv_oY2BioF_MDNLBC4_SFJkJ_uIGJs1hRAPinaDqfVGLv3oD2WRiGJCmdcF4ioILRsiJk6/s1600/DSC_0338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhL0k4fzDWIBsRdL2N3lj9nBKevriQM6Nb7ylNA1wZtQyToVdm-pGPBTZyo2PjrHv_oY2BioF_MDNLBC4_SFJkJ_uIGJs1hRAPinaDqfVGLv3oD2WRiGJCmdcF4ioILRsiJk6/s400/DSC_0338.JPG" width="267" /></a></div>
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The Ladybug got to represent Pixar too. She was Boo from Monsters' Inc. Sadly, she had a fever so she didn't get to enjoy trick-or-treating.</div>
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I keep joking that Little G is going to be Lightning McQueen for Halloween until he is 18, but really, the joy in his face when I showed him the final product was totally worth the hours it took to make it.</div>
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What was your favorite Halloween costume from when you were a kid?<br />
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<br />Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-79594099819336766152012-12-17T09:28:00.001-05:002012-12-17T09:43:27.861-05:00A Monday Return<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsRca8BVtwgKXxKJs41RyJfXU55ehKapwq0ouRtk7u5Sldn4kH0RDR0wLaCk1VWSlf91XdGjIm0tYA2UDkdQx_SP0yjrQj97JgQY8ZpBJhEce_vBvMcokJh2AQlvQKZryGhb0/s1600/candle-light-heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsRca8BVtwgKXxKJs41RyJfXU55ehKapwq0ouRtk7u5Sldn4kH0RDR0wLaCk1VWSlf91XdGjIm0tYA2UDkdQx_SP0yjrQj97JgQY8ZpBJhEce_vBvMcokJh2AQlvQKZryGhb0/s400/candle-light-heart.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2012/12/the-sunday-showcase-no-131.html" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
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I drove Little G to school today like I do every day. Tires splashing through rain. Late autumn darkness shadowing the roads.<br />
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We spoke to Little G at dinner on Saturday. He is so young, but he listens. He hears. He understands. <br />
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We let him know that at school he might hear other kids talking about some things that sound scary. He told us an ornament was falling off the tree. We assured him that he is safe. He picked his nose. We encourage him to come to us or his teachers if he had any questions. He asked us if he could be all done so he could race.<br />
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I drove Little G to school today like I do every day. Radio tuned to Christmas music. A beloved toy for entertainment.<br />
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I reminded him that there might be a special visitor in his classroom like there was on Friday. The classroom parents have been volunteering to come in and share holiday traditions. He asked me if it would be a parent and if they would say something scary.<br />
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He listens. He hears. He understands.<br />
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I think the parent will share something fun, Little G. But if you hear something scary today, don't forget that you are safe and you can ask your teachers any questions you have. He tells me if he hears something scary, then he will turn and walk away from them. Walk away, Little G. <br />
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I drove Little G to school today like I do every day. The rolling drop off is barren. I'm the only one in line.<br />
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The head of staff is there to open the door and greet us. The daily greeters are gathered together behind him waiting for more children. They are teachers. Allies. They are the men and women I have seen every day at drop off since school began. I look at them and see. They are the men and women who would lay down their lives to protect my child. <br />
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The rain is pelting and dripping over the car. Bright yellow boots slide out merrily. He takes the hand of a guardian, a trusted guide. Have a good day, Little G. I love you. Bye mommy! He waves and I pull away.<br />
<br />Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-57296381506826650062012-12-10T14:19:00.000-05:002012-12-10T14:21:01.344-05:00The Ladybug Turns One!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/10/a-year-ago.html" target="_blank">As previously mentioned</a>, Ladybug turned one in late October. I know it is such a cliché to say this, but holy heck did THAT go fast!!</div>
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The day of her birthday was gorgeous and we had good friends and family come over to help us celebrate.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRiUTOAM9xaMrjRcJrokgMe3y-XYMU23_13HRrmvQ8NtBIcQK-VB2njWYt19-5Ob2j2luK0QKwHyuTnAje1g3tFZ-miZoMGKvwmnVe5LmjYmx-vo78Cd9f9ZbsKs9kviDSWvy/s1600/DSC_0110.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRiUTOAM9xaMrjRcJrokgMe3y-XYMU23_13HRrmvQ8NtBIcQK-VB2njWYt19-5Ob2j2luK0QKwHyuTnAje1g3tFZ-miZoMGKvwmnVe5LmjYmx-vo78Cd9f9ZbsKs9kviDSWvy/s400/DSC_0110.jpeg" width="267" /></a></div>
And because nothing is ever simple in our lives, we also scheduled our two cords of firewood to be delivered that day AND our winter CSA pick up was during the party.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xncxYm7W_GS2LJzX-o79JSt5cnH9Z6pRz3VApeJq8f4f2frLwcPEPTCLkWPBIxxq0TEAXSni6H-Ycr4MxjX6rYV49DiBbpLZseMCaAn6I2hFg_gUjJsGFxxq5RNsMHCHID0A/s1600/DSC_0111.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xncxYm7W_GS2LJzX-o79JSt5cnH9Z6pRz3VApeJq8f4f2frLwcPEPTCLkWPBIxxq0TEAXSni6H-Ycr4MxjX6rYV49DiBbpLZseMCaAn6I2hFg_gUjJsGFxxq5RNsMHCHID0A/s400/DSC_0111.jpeg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least the wood delivery provided entertainment for the masses</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">uh...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2YDOBckGDdrEfqRkVpfFRTz8e9Usa3R7v8FHhjNLA-J8EcpWsF-E3yEVdXbcYK5sqJ2B3M50_17Bs-RWPgWZN8rcfG9mBeXJCnFZTxWMye1gCdYGDfCwjuDq7HL1Psohby3i/s1600/DSC_0121.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2YDOBckGDdrEfqRkVpfFRTz8e9Usa3R7v8FHhjNLA-J8EcpWsF-E3yEVdXbcYK5sqJ2B3M50_17Bs-RWPgWZN8rcfG9mBeXJCnFZTxWMye1gCdYGDfCwjuDq7HL1Psohby3i/s400/DSC_0121.jpeg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...that's a LOT of wood!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gKgkzjhXGJzsjtYvmzfRLp0Qfny1c1PNh4o7bCkE3goXnYyDO0a0NrB7OZRgITsYxkEp48JTgX1g3IvmII-VUf_5iYhbijUlgBDFdE1qqpVIVha3o0nJLI5rA2AquC7GRuux/s1600/DSC_0123.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gKgkzjhXGJzsjtYvmzfRLp0Qfny1c1PNh4o7bCkE3goXnYyDO0a0NrB7OZRgITsYxkEp48JTgX1g3IvmII-VUf_5iYhbijUlgBDFdE1qqpVIVha3o0nJLI5rA2AquC7GRuux/s400/DSC_0123.jpeg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJszc5Tf_hLd3Dfsxi7Vy_ZaJEuO4cYBPwsqSTN9iFmH8CjfJdBILcHztS4ZSZWh-w_AmmUw9srGb1bi7KIyIG9AGl_dvjNCLBBytkrd22r_dcqSeofM5K9hG1igXVpawYT__8/s1600/DSC_0125.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJszc5Tf_hLd3Dfsxi7Vy_ZaJEuO4cYBPwsqSTN9iFmH8CjfJdBILcHztS4ZSZWh-w_AmmUw9srGb1bi7KIyIG9AGl_dvjNCLBBytkrd22r_dcqSeofM5K9hG1igXVpawYT__8/s400/DSC_0125.jpeg" width="267" /></a></div>
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Soon it was time for cake. Ladybug could have cared less...but her brother was stoked!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtknw4zzBTsphdgGtvi3FRknqpm0Q-ZYa1MThe21KbvEcfvZw9KbtR4gb_g6O-n6B5XXKaJ07yj_GO4lqRyne5btbM2-lS2zE5JxRsDqpDO0ufEWZF8JcvKtr6EE2TjZtJEocm/s1600/DSC_0130.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtknw4zzBTsphdgGtvi3FRknqpm0Q-ZYa1MThe21KbvEcfvZw9KbtR4gb_g6O-n6B5XXKaJ07yj_GO4lqRyne5btbM2-lS2zE5JxRsDqpDO0ufEWZF8JcvKtr6EE2TjZtJEocm/s400/DSC_0130.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Interestingly, the last time I had a child turn one I mildly freaked out about the cake. I was just going to get one from the supermarket and when I saw that the icing was crazy red and blue balloons I panicked about the amount of unnatural stuff in the cake. So I figured I would make a cake and headed to the cake boxes. But then, once I picked up a cake box, I realized that the same stuff I was worried about in the bakery cake would be in the box cake mix as well. So then I decided to make a cake from scratch. Which is how I found myself on the morning of Little G's first birthday making a freaking cake from scratch with buttercream icing that he BARELY touched!!</div>
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This time around, I bought the box of cake mix and a tub of icing. I did end up making it into a mini-layer cake by baking it into a sheet and then cutting out three circles for the layers...but other than that it was just your basic boxed cake mix cake.</div>
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I'm so proud.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mn2j63sY_8KeYruwe3VgAqUuQ_rjAx5mU71KzmrMKrdvy6vvIoqJ58P14aiMqxrN8tQid-mF_Zys5xRIbnIoc1LsbJjVvNQVVKtNcDHOC8lK5tSAyt4BjQypR09orsiAGARJ/s1600/DSC_0132.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mn2j63sY_8KeYruwe3VgAqUuQ_rjAx5mU71KzmrMKrdvy6vvIoqJ58P14aiMqxrN8tQid-mF_Zys5xRIbnIoc1LsbJjVvNQVVKtNcDHOC8lK5tSAyt4BjQypR09orsiAGARJ/s400/DSC_0132.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And now we have a series of pictures where you can truly see Ladybug's newly discovered I'm-above-all-you-people personality shine:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQDZh4dciTew9h6CO-xj2Fu8T-khYmvQzmXaqNA3uTIfUbbcLWd9UPrvvW1HfbPdboq41JTVWtNMXOUwmGVWBeqZLs8BHfkeiWkh4O6MTmb1NxdR_SzJwjFtAYbx5eB2SDWE2/s1600/DSC_0134.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQDZh4dciTew9h6CO-xj2Fu8T-khYmvQzmXaqNA3uTIfUbbcLWd9UPrvvW1HfbPdboq41JTVWtNMXOUwmGVWBeqZLs8BHfkeiWkh4O6MTmb1NxdR_SzJwjFtAYbx5eB2SDWE2/s400/DSC_0134.jpeg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh look - my people have brought me food</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHFUet2wIg-VeMvORNZAltJ9eSg6eobNOIOw7xEbKPG61UXKVDUbcYSw9l_ac_az7y6Ha3GLEdjKzeNVt4cIsK-FyPG78gJTrxopcjmWad0kdCSk0VOYopjtuPadcx8eARLtG/s1600/DSC_0137.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHFUet2wIg-VeMvORNZAltJ9eSg6eobNOIOw7xEbKPG61UXKVDUbcYSw9l_ac_az7y6Ha3GLEdjKzeNVt4cIsK-FyPG78gJTrxopcjmWad0kdCSk0VOYopjtuPadcx8eARLtG/s400/DSC_0137.jpeg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this food looks questionable and is on fire</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwDtBltvrCd9K7NyuCg6QQWBUhVlLUio7Ww7CEYzNklGnelThZR0qCrO3OlEcrPWT3NCIf9cJ1lieot5q-JtJloF9Tn5eqAQecfvxFwF_0ZL0QrzQHxWC3KWQMrZCBL6fdsPj/s1600/DSC_0140.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwDtBltvrCd9K7NyuCg6QQWBUhVlLUio7Ww7CEYzNklGnelThZR0qCrO3OlEcrPWT3NCIf9cJ1lieot5q-JtJloF9Tn5eqAQecfvxFwF_0ZL0QrzQHxWC3KWQMrZCBL6fdsPj/s400/DSC_0140.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHjcd262BaKJ2XFg924jI9cbblAlR8Z3-lu117mhGgBbVvNteKyvc9ANSKEiV7Vq9PQriFwhW8rnJPqOAVhkcBo6VbaaesuqSdJ-pI6vWTjxT8iSzHca4XK2k50vSWl2umKj3/s1600/DSC_0141.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHjcd262BaKJ2XFg924jI9cbblAlR8Z3-lu117mhGgBbVvNteKyvc9ANSKEiV7Vq9PQriFwhW8rnJPqOAVhkcBo6VbaaesuqSdJ-pI6vWTjxT8iSzHca4XK2k50vSWl2umKj3/s400/DSC_0141.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the older child is telling me to touch this piece of food</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbuofA1YYeVTiJAP66KpUW4Z2Zj6xgl_RQFP31mjDhvGz5gnZslMYF0AD9ZNsr5svpnqBrTSQRF-dmQwoz3qJWXy8rSQirp5swdN_rEfC0Dgcr89q0k0S_F9fAERbVVxbhLoU/s1600/DSC_0143.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbuofA1YYeVTiJAP66KpUW4Z2Zj6xgl_RQFP31mjDhvGz5gnZslMYF0AD9ZNsr5svpnqBrTSQRF-dmQwoz3qJWXy8rSQirp5swdN_rEfC0Dgcr89q0k0S_F9fAERbVVxbhLoU/s400/DSC_0143.jpeg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">well great, now it is on my hands</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheg4jFZZTF9oyjL8vN8rFrvHx3nE1ITXtRXgVa4mm8ifIwAn_vy1HImoZnBMPKq7VWAX6HRt9jW9jVQhkRR_M8A-F1_YPCreVYKN7eBB8fUhC7iXHtHttSkxStmuIGdd7W9gSu/s1600/DSC_0144.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheg4jFZZTF9oyjL8vN8rFrvHx3nE1ITXtRXgVa4mm8ifIwAn_vy1HImoZnBMPKq7VWAX6HRt9jW9jVQhkRR_M8A-F1_YPCreVYKN7eBB8fUhC7iXHtHttSkxStmuIGdd7W9gSu/s400/DSC_0144.jpeg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">um... ew.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakBo4dcx-2pJTcmTaQ0FhyPa5GwyFOwa8WyQcQKr4Xxmqrn284s57HmiY_JEsXPrmyZQHHC8OqSzIHglxL8Yb6b__A9A14cZl2LWawaNOzEB5XIBjZ-1EO6dWn58iY9MxoToa/s1600/DSC_0146.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakBo4dcx-2pJTcmTaQ0FhyPa5GwyFOwa8WyQcQKr4Xxmqrn284s57HmiY_JEsXPrmyZQHHC8OqSzIHglxL8Yb6b__A9A14cZl2LWawaNOzEB5XIBjZ-1EO6dWn58iY9MxoToa/s400/DSC_0146.jpeg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">thoughtasty...I'lljustgogetsomemore</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJx5Xz166TpcbHoi967MkHmUc86RiTFo3w2I6eDQgnQI34rIAm4cCir9Kha0I2yrQxNd6woegOaxRJQxPDUVP82LqX4PBwmwFhHW62vpjrU8YvdlbzPSZ7nbaA7XFEMGQC7nr/s1600/DSC_0148.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJx5Xz166TpcbHoi967MkHmUc86RiTFo3w2I6eDQgnQI34rIAm4cCir9Kha0I2yrQxNd6woegOaxRJQxPDUVP82LqX4PBwmwFhHW62vpjrU8YvdlbzPSZ7nbaA7XFEMGQC7nr/s400/DSC_0148.jpeg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't help myself! It really is quite delicious. The people in charge here have actually outdone themselves for once</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkWPYD1cD7fOJFbpaYKL8N2Cx3yyt_OBH8gQjckQsnc7fwwegrr5fvTm0-dza8ujpFb7dStODoq_4S2Qci2SFm-yGrLV0Ml9qmq9mmI_DUgfN273l2waI46rv1nqg8x2NQf5S/s1600/DSC_0151.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkWPYD1cD7fOJFbpaYKL8N2Cx3yyt_OBH8gQjckQsnc7fwwegrr5fvTm0-dza8ujpFb7dStODoq_4S2Qci2SFm-yGrLV0Ml9qmq9mmI_DUgfN273l2waI46rv1nqg8x2NQf5S/s400/DSC_0151.jpeg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlH-qwFBgxJRVc-97Ld6TSuuMhtZ2sVY92RbSFhcG9Z8hg025OJ7ImQuXwemx1t2aYLEhs-VzZiFFn2iLoOtz8NogZieGXkyXYuelz6Lvnp5VFIO1NA00feJfD595xvphLdVx/s1600/DSC_0155.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlH-qwFBgxJRVc-97Ld6TSuuMhtZ2sVY92RbSFhcG9Z8hg025OJ7ImQuXwemx1t2aYLEhs-VzZiFFn2iLoOtz8NogZieGXkyXYuelz6Lvnp5VFIO1NA00feJfD595xvphLdVx/s400/DSC_0155.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WHO'S A LADY NOW!!??</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5YJq_E_8bjIAEZC6bNL4vHYdU79SIocQ-oRpvf4eEAxq_-nuZAeApxHkNQAWBXHIZAPEiD7-CgntlFM4P71GdGLXggrcaIFwoufl2XTE3kTATUeS0uG3VLQ8SLPerrpSQE7m/s1600/DSC_0158.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5YJq_E_8bjIAEZC6bNL4vHYdU79SIocQ-oRpvf4eEAxq_-nuZAeApxHkNQAWBXHIZAPEiD7-CgntlFM4P71GdGLXggrcaIFwoufl2XTE3kTATUeS0uG3VLQ8SLPerrpSQE7m/s400/DSC_0158.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGn3yAd6CJnQ4zSAtkIfiLBgGDvGnttVe6Q56mx3aQGMWlhWKcNTvxh4U7OXnuBORsYLfieqPjsdGFvveP-PBXaRu8VV3ogj1mGdiCPyfQ5Lhyphenhyphen1iP9p8YlObipG429wd27X8_X/s1600/DSC_0166.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGn3yAd6CJnQ4zSAtkIfiLBgGDvGnttVe6Q56mx3aQGMWlhWKcNTvxh4U7OXnuBORsYLfieqPjsdGFvveP-PBXaRu8VV3ogj1mGdiCPyfQ5Lhyphenhyphen1iP9p8YlObipG429wd27X8_X/s400/DSC_0166.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Little G and friends were glad that Ladybug had deemed her cake worthy of eating. They were even more glad that mommy couldn't have cared less about the amount of dyes and crazy ingredients in the ice cream cake.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4A857r_reqw2GdlMI5O5eA8A73YHTTum8IcXI5cW5Qxn140UIHvnnhwxkRJlWUgBAfzmYeB4sK9zmhyphenhyphenCMfyPpF6MJDiUrSmYXGT_CzMEer4wiPzSGIK30HvQl7noeX3sDyCI/s1600/DSC_0164.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4A857r_reqw2GdlMI5O5eA8A73YHTTum8IcXI5cW5Qxn140UIHvnnhwxkRJlWUgBAfzmYeB4sK9zmhyphenhyphenCMfyPpF6MJDiUrSmYXGT_CzMEer4wiPzSGIK30HvQl7noeX3sDyCI/s400/DSC_0164.jpeg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<br />
Yeah...that's blue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67mUjFf6g51UmvKjytOyPWTYdkbyLv0JE4xw-_WXv1m3tN186rWY7JOKbkSS0UWf_ticmCAROQDnFgxP_dULsPuk3e2ls6ZzaS-1W-jUm8xtzb2e7cEkJmv44R1DXU_QqAgSl/s1600/DSC_0167.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67mUjFf6g51UmvKjytOyPWTYdkbyLv0JE4xw-_WXv1m3tN186rWY7JOKbkSS0UWf_ticmCAROQDnFgxP_dULsPuk3e2ls6ZzaS-1W-jUm8xtzb2e7cEkJmv44R1DXU_QqAgSl/s400/DSC_0167.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Soon it was time for presents.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5tjkviDMdUdfkybbX2jMOu0TI5wVGgMfFFblClRZzEVrAmaq0U3hVoJhyZ-i6TR1s3BfoDKCSKiFHr9og05igUYSzTWsK7i1c_girge1aLly73R5Onx0S4X_hbO7flDDEhW7/s1600/DSC_0179.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5tjkviDMdUdfkybbX2jMOu0TI5wVGgMfFFblClRZzEVrAmaq0U3hVoJhyZ-i6TR1s3BfoDKCSKiFHr9og05igUYSzTWsK7i1c_girge1aLly73R5Onx0S4X_hbO7flDDEhW7/s400/DSC_0179.jpeg" width="267" /></a></div>
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And eventually, it was time for napping and wood pike conquering.</div>
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It was a great day with family and friends and enough left over chili to feed us for another two days!</div>
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<br />Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-31923889459865496262012-11-28T10:08:00.000-05:002012-11-28T12:37:37.812-05:00What to BringAs I have talked about often, when I have the day to spend with both of my kids, it is imperative that we get out of our house. As long as there isn't a major weather situation going on, I pack up my two children and myself for the day and we hit the pavement, choosing to either walk the mile to our train station in our neighborhood or to hop on a bus at the end of our street and ride the two miles to the subway station. From there, we can go anywhere in the city.<br />
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But packing a newly-potty-trained preschooler and an infant for the day without relying on the insta-storage a car trunk provides can be daunting if you haven't done it a lot, so I figured I would share my stroller basket with you all (note - clearly these aren't to scale):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkyElIckBcvwUIggi05GsjY-b4vtwG4Dt2QZRtXf6vHEndtknh8-HPVbMh5-39bm2X5NnK6wOU5VkcmD6KxOpppiESwDrw7geL3Mm2JzF78an3cBe-oAEEgG-KB0SZKWGLQwC/s1600/day-out-collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkyElIckBcvwUIggi05GsjY-b4vtwG4Dt2QZRtXf6vHEndtknh8-HPVbMh5-39bm2X5NnK6wOU5VkcmD6KxOpppiESwDrw7geL3Mm2JzF78an3cBe-oAEEgG-KB0SZKWGLQwC/s400/day-out-collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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1) <a href="http://www.mycocolime.com/shop.html" target="_blank">Diaper bag with baby essentials</a> - extra clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles, formula - the normal load<br />
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2) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Q-Spray-Paint-Shopper/dp/B003B002TA/ref=sr_1_3?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1354123537&sr=1-3&keywords=canvas+grocery+bag" target="_blank">Potty essentials bag</a> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/BABYBJORN-Toilet-Trainer-White-Black/dp/B0009PAN7Q" target="_blank">potty seat</a>, extra plastic bag and and extra set of big-kid clothes<br />
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3) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tuffo-Water-Resistant-Outdoor-Blanket-Stripe/dp/B000FEJE1C/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1354123564&sr=1-2&keywords=fold+up+blanket" target="_blank">Fold up blanket</a> - if the ground is wet, I need a place for the baby to get out of the stroller and roll around without getting soaked<br />
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4) Lunch - I use a couple of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/650ml-Lunch-Bento-Green-Japan/dp/B001IJBMLI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1354123611&sr=8-5&keywords=bento+box" target="_blank">different</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Sears-Nibble-Yellow-Months/dp/B002V92XRQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1354123636&sr=1-5&keywords=bento+box" target="_blank">bento boxes</a> and pack a lunch just like if I were sending the kids to school, however if we're headed to a museum, I may plan to buy lunch there.<br />
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and<br />
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Snacks - Typically I pack Barbara's granola bars (which apparently they don't carry anymore. Boo.), fruit and some crackers and peanut butter or popcorn<br />
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5) Small, thin towel and bathing suit - one never knows when you might happen upon a sprinkler park along the way<br />
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6) Toys - I have a few, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Beach-Inflatable-Balls-Count/dp/B000E8B7XC/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1354123896&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=mini+inflatable+balls" target="_blank">small inflatable balls</a> that squish down very small, but are lots of fun to play with at our destination. Usually I bring along a truck or train for the older kid to use. He likes to have something to do when I can't be interacting with him i.e. if I'm feeding his sister<br />
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7) Water bottles <a href="http://www.amazon.com/CamelBak-eddy-Stainless-7L-Logo/dp/B006ZT9INU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354124016&sr=8-1&keywords=camelbak+stainless" target="_blank">for me</a> and the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Camelbak-Bottle--Liter-12-Ounce-Robots/dp/B005VY016I/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1354123934&sr=8-10&keywords=camelbak" target="_blank">big kid</a><br />
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8) <a href="http://uppababy.com/products/product.php?id=44" target="_blank">Uppababy Vista stroller</a> with <a href="http://uppababy.com/products/product.php?id=44" target="_blank">Piggyback ride-on</a> attachment - my Vista has been a workhorse from day one of bringing our oldest home from the hospital as both of our children spent a month sleeping in the bassinets in our bedroom at night. These days, Ladybug rides in the stroller and Little G uses the ride on attachment. For the most part he walks, but we live in a really hilly area, so if I want to get somewhere quickly, he hops on his "scooter" and we're good to go. Combined with all of our things in the basket and my kids, the stroller can top over 90lbs (20lb stroller + ride on, 20lb baby, 40lb child, 10+lbs gear!) and I can still steer the stroller on our bumpy, city sidewalks with one hand. Plus, the basket is HUGE which is essential for being out all day. There's no way we could do these adventures without our trusty Vista.<br />
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So what do you pack to go out for the day with your kids?<br />
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To see some of our recent adventures out and about, click <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/11/summers-best-two-weeks-week-one.html" target="_blank">here</a>.Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-32157750151352933032012-11-26T08:30:00.000-05:002012-11-26T08:30:03.827-05:00Occupy Our Street<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last week I told you all about the <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/11/summers-best-two-weeks-week-one.html" target="_blank">last two weeks of summer</a>. Looking back, I can honestly say it was a magical two weeks. Oh there were lots of tantrums and other blips, but all around, we had a great time chasing the sun every day and I can actually say I am looking forward to doing it all again next summer, too. </div>
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As the summer came to a close, we got an email from our friends, 'Roberta' and 'Chris', who live in downtown Boston with their two children, the eldest of which is a year older than Little G, their youngest, 6 weeks younger than the Ladybug. Turns out their son, Wookie, was slightly obsessed with the idea of going camping. And while it was a great idea to try some backyard camping, they neither had a back yard nor any camping equipment (nor expertise for that matter, but who needs expertise for backyard camping?). Low and behold, my former roommate, 'Laura' and her husband, Grins Quietly, had a tent they could use and we had a back yard.</div>
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So we planned for the Sunday of Labor Day weekend to be camping out night and thus Occupy ____ Street was formed.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura and Grins Quietly brought their tent...it seemed so small at first.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First thing's first at the campsite, we need to inspect our equipment</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlvUqlsrFEBKArhKTXt1gsYt3rRFSJfHd3D7z5QjRe09VMcYS57KB4fv3whFG8nZxE4eMxZhQwynPLqkzVq16AtO8Z7SG8cJXpBVVIM1wsQglLY47-E5WXhqBuC53iEi-L9cp/s1600/3+IMG_3592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlvUqlsrFEBKArhKTXt1gsYt3rRFSJfHd3D7z5QjRe09VMcYS57KB4fv3whFG8nZxE4eMxZhQwynPLqkzVq16AtO8Z7SG8cJXpBVVIM1wsQglLY47-E5WXhqBuC53iEi-L9cp/s400/3+IMG_3592.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hurrah!! Little G's tent went up quickly!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold, the world's largest back-yard tent - seriously, do you see how it takes up the entire width of our back yard?! Note my husband's tent hiding out inside the North wing. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next step is to man your BBQ</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPGzIeti3Ah2sue1I3NRGvtPHxRN0wVBaQ8YCPZ901An7EHX9Z2kICBLqxkySxvINipkVX2Csc1CBRXVMvn87FK-h-2kX28gLTdl3tvFAItouxLD51oDgOuQdM4jlOzWpibgN/s1600/7+IMG_3582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPGzIeti3Ah2sue1I3NRGvtPHxRN0wVBaQ8YCPZ901An7EHX9Z2kICBLqxkySxvINipkVX2Csc1CBRXVMvn87FK-h-2kX28gLTdl3tvFAItouxLD51oDgOuQdM4jlOzWpibgN/s400/7+IMG_3582.JPG" width="331" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ladybug and Wookie's baby sister, Storm Trooper, check things out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot dogs, veggies, pasta salads, beer, friends...what more could a camp out need?</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGFCOrORqmhiPHFJ3QF8UjdiUMmmu5989dK9fvUkii06xVUm0Bc1F1Dc9oQ6aeUkQ6uwEaxGpLVWh9QZnxp5pe3cOtz0oNhp-dbqJm1HVLDPt9ntmj5PcRdepxCHwtj2ltL1C/s1600/10+DSC_0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGFCOrORqmhiPHFJ3QF8UjdiUMmmu5989dK9fvUkii06xVUm0Bc1F1Dc9oQ6aeUkQ6uwEaxGpLVWh9QZnxp5pe3cOtz0oNhp-dbqJm1HVLDPt9ntmj5PcRdepxCHwtj2ltL1C/s400/10+DSC_0060.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVC14WkRpw9aaTjAD05HE3Tod__9ZZNLrNE20dVCC6JLljcywj23Iz71IiIhFj7QzHXjejxL9cmpvmWBu_jq9qILhZbxtmNausJtel5zfrfb4A1Xykatd_r5a4ozVVAT8LrmF/s1600/11+DSC_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVC14WkRpw9aaTjAD05HE3Tod__9ZZNLrNE20dVCC6JLljcywj23Iz71IiIhFj7QzHXjejxL9cmpvmWBu_jq9qILhZbxtmNausJtel5zfrfb4A1Xykatd_r5a4ozVVAT8LrmF/s400/11+DSC_0061.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of our campsite from above</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUsdZ2uD4C7z1QuUII_XlUDIs6d2iHJfwQLrNmH2Kr7Ms0p3GSrTnjpu6KxFtlOM7FJPbtaC88Q6WDU6NSsezUQx3alQKC0kPluGwK9RRTqhAlVBviLB_lbvzBRfdjog-fhpt/s1600/12+IMG_3605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUsdZ2uD4C7z1QuUII_XlUDIs6d2iHJfwQLrNmH2Kr7Ms0p3GSrTnjpu6KxFtlOM7FJPbtaC88Q6WDU6NSsezUQx3alQKC0kPluGwK9RRTqhAlVBviLB_lbvzBRfdjog-fhpt/s400/12+IMG_3605.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls check out the action below...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbKkUFmPH8bdgiQzMT6gg4cOMQub0CSGB5LxT8K7MjKYcWXdAmS84xLb0cf8fL4FtqNbe85WSGhdqRPxC7hnuRy2twykAd5SzkZeHpVzu1CDjmFlUW77sb2h6Ao42Hv90Mvkn/s1600/13+IMG_3606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbKkUFmPH8bdgiQzMT6gg4cOMQub0CSGB5LxT8K7MjKYcWXdAmS84xLb0cf8fL4FtqNbe85WSGhdqRPxC7hnuRy2twykAd5SzkZeHpVzu1CDjmFlUW77sb2h6Ao42Hv90Mvkn/s400/13+IMG_3606.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just what is going on down there that is so funny?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuuXMiPsH0ru7PjlgJTHImDCCWq1kN3z6UPiLoVQWeKIRzfEfleJY3IGPdbzgYhRC7A21OafafM-SVFQlwFBkXxBVFttnzmhd0HRSb37BQZODdYZR9dDkTmYdmJPcpEPqw_VD/s1600/14+DSC_0065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuuXMiPsH0ru7PjlgJTHImDCCWq1kN3z6UPiLoVQWeKIRzfEfleJY3IGPdbzgYhRC7A21OafafM-SVFQlwFBkXxBVFttnzmhd0HRSb37BQZODdYZR9dDkTmYdmJPcpEPqw_VD/s400/14+DSC_0065.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh yeah, the sleeping bag monster comes out to play - not pictured is when Wookie decided to use sleeping bag monster as a piñata</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZvCiqZMEY-l7RlpwXr11ewOaWeDm1yeys71n7euOiKo1XRhJftizNWxlbi3vhtwpkJiT2u5a_zMsZTqndupfF4NS4Y8qKZX09DsS4RCzn7_0O7L2LxAhmJKA_Uoi55jVKTHi/s1600/14a+IMG_3543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZvCiqZMEY-l7RlpwXr11ewOaWeDm1yeys71n7euOiKo1XRhJftizNWxlbi3vhtwpkJiT2u5a_zMsZTqndupfF4NS4Y8qKZX09DsS4RCzn7_0O7L2LxAhmJKA_Uoi55jVKTHi/s400/14a+IMG_3543.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soon the sun started to set so it was time to start our campfire</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZEOADmzfSWPpM6pb9EdNPy20r2u7KvP6mh1z38oBb2mJJd0gS4h2fcTeUphFRnjAMAyTO_mjm1kOmacM51ARsmrNyYkcld5lTvffXAl2ji-g01BwsbdChArFWNTYGkYDFvzS/s1600/14b+IMG_3609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZEOADmzfSWPpM6pb9EdNPy20r2u7KvP6mh1z38oBb2mJJd0gS4h2fcTeUphFRnjAMAyTO_mjm1kOmacM51ARsmrNyYkcld5lTvffXAl2ji-g01BwsbdChArFWNTYGkYDFvzS/s400/14b+IMG_3609.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Technically, we aren't supposed to use fire pits within the city limits, but everyone does. The bigger issue for us was that our house is on the corner and a very ornery fireman lives caddy corner from us, so we were pretty sure he would call someone to shut down our operation. However, with a tent the size of a camper in our backyard, he never even saw it ;)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqkQJnkxr3KFtfsbKaGRSVYDP9OJQwihVl1F38CzkpyGkHU0SdjkgeKfjXHOsK_GestzriEos9-1clQ0sOcGaPLET8VeuK8ArRT7FpRkbLR0xlzJgVE9RnLUbAyRDcQW6zsaV/s1600/15+DSC_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqkQJnkxr3KFtfsbKaGRSVYDP9OJQwihVl1F38CzkpyGkHU0SdjkgeKfjXHOsK_GestzriEos9-1clQ0sOcGaPLET8VeuK8ArRT7FpRkbLR0xlzJgVE9RnLUbAyRDcQW6zsaV/s400/15+DSC_0076.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
- - - Fast forward to darkness since the picture taker had to take the Ladybug inside to go to bed - - -</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1p0ZMT9dDWMeZDscK0cM66c1CF4ifVD8q0hMOSEexFBch8bZ0xZoBdVu31A78WDZlSlArVDLxzBLUhH9ASLD2yUMfAr5eXbOsjERpYqHjfkwgQDf03BhHfquTCWk-9t1OkOw/s1600/16+DSC_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1p0ZMT9dDWMeZDscK0cM66c1CF4ifVD8q0hMOSEexFBch8bZ0xZoBdVu31A78WDZlSlArVDLxzBLUhH9ASLD2yUMfAr5eXbOsjERpYqHjfkwgQDf03BhHfquTCWk-9t1OkOw/s400/16+DSC_0090.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time for s'mores!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWtr_3QgeaXA3iEm1Zx65YS4HJZj0yxTCSCqGG11BvLeEMtz30_tSRPO4BHqPIS4uB262jo9RtZY9t1ApoBa1Y8dWLjex4mgV4VRHj-UwYe0vjpeuyDovSwckK6nd656r2riU/s1600/17+DSC_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWtr_3QgeaXA3iEm1Zx65YS4HJZj0yxTCSCqGG11BvLeEMtz30_tSRPO4BHqPIS4uB262jo9RtZY9t1ApoBa1Y8dWLjex4mgV4VRHj-UwYe0vjpeuyDovSwckK6nd656r2riU/s400/17+DSC_0096.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my favorite photo of the night for Little G's expression alone! You couldn't find a happier kid..</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFyBzV_joN8WO0T0iiHcuDfhVpRnnfOF5xqlEjXysIcyw3M7GB42coqZAT2CWAbKdXlQAfWzetl6uauMR6AzU7qmEPCeZoLAP4SWLgEJhSu6Ausgo2r019f5UVkBBMgdjzIH6/s1600/18+IMG_3616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFyBzV_joN8WO0T0iiHcuDfhVpRnnfOF5xqlEjXysIcyw3M7GB42coqZAT2CWAbKdXlQAfWzetl6uauMR6AzU7qmEPCeZoLAP4SWLgEJhSu6Ausgo2r019f5UVkBBMgdjzIH6/s400/18+IMG_3616.JPG" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...except for maybe these kids!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yK4IktMHgDMugFLzNq39rTtGJJWDGzrV_LOt2SBlG2A1WAn-0Dw9U-MgOqplG5lDHfnQsKdoMnltuVP_YAf3j8Y0TGfWINZNRZyJwSGcpgWvapyrc4IamKAdkB7GFZs9CdCQ/s1600/19+IMG_3618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yK4IktMHgDMugFLzNq39rTtGJJWDGzrV_LOt2SBlG2A1WAn-0Dw9U-MgOqplG5lDHfnQsKdoMnltuVP_YAf3j8Y0TGfWINZNRZyJwSGcpgWvapyrc4IamKAdkB7GFZs9CdCQ/s400/19+IMG_3618.JPG" width="365" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After s'mores it was time to get ready for bed. Daddy and Little G read a bed time story.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5n6o7FgRKmCGL0f5-731mCF3HpBtYu7bGOL4AcJl0gFAhdoRcGSmyM-HRB44Jk-weLooVwHFq5jgudEoeFBOaQLkpRxBQVVv4GS1PdX2ay_XLtxVa9hlxn7AccJchbqdCZTA/s1600/20+DSC_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5n6o7FgRKmCGL0f5-731mCF3HpBtYu7bGOL4AcJl0gFAhdoRcGSmyM-HRB44Jk-weLooVwHFq5jgudEoeFBOaQLkpRxBQVVv4GS1PdX2ay_XLtxVa9hlxn7AccJchbqdCZTA/s400/20+DSC_0113.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0QDWcTkBO1mkYp6AnzT1wtLbxzea_pFTfMzE59dAFZgMmRjkCH2wHtlZNesLjikvAR4Vk0JMPymuLS2Rmubj4JpOEhuW0PBCTjurUz3m0qYk1gRPQPWLn0Hlf3dDcoqu90bS/s1600/21+IMG_3619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0QDWcTkBO1mkYp6AnzT1wtLbxzea_pFTfMzE59dAFZgMmRjkCH2wHtlZNesLjikvAR4Vk0JMPymuLS2Rmubj4JpOEhuW0PBCTjurUz3m0qYk1gRPQPWLn0Hlf3dDcoqu90bS/s400/21+IMG_3619.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Chris' and the Wookie in their tent-mansion</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vfAtWVr5n1rS5y2yqIOLkRYIdIVgoW54MWwwMgq_8JQQg8e5jqwCMFEVzb5sdyDWPtr-D-X2EQ_o7STZ6tbPKI9iMjom35eA8LxrDXlZSPxPwjnXePFTbISH6VbKTSLAy7mL/s1600/22+IMG_3570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vfAtWVr5n1rS5y2yqIOLkRYIdIVgoW54MWwwMgq_8JQQg8e5jqwCMFEVzb5sdyDWPtr-D-X2EQ_o7STZ6tbPKI9iMjom35eA8LxrDXlZSPxPwjnXePFTbISH6VbKTSLAy7mL/s400/22+IMG_3570.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No camping trip would be complete without a pancake and bacon breakfast in the morning (which was VERY early in case you were wondering) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5Lc0rsG5dkwSdeJM1b65WzoBs4Zl073TDAEhsBSqEVP8F9J4C4GaZrvWGG6uRrBePpoD2kpUiZtesm4cwrgkG7HyW8DSbX-8mJcneRPKA7Gl0aRaXpWcawYzKklLi4x7wEe0/s1600/23+IMG_3571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5Lc0rsG5dkwSdeJM1b65WzoBs4Zl073TDAEhsBSqEVP8F9J4C4GaZrvWGG6uRrBePpoD2kpUiZtesm4cwrgkG7HyW8DSbX-8mJcneRPKA7Gl0aRaXpWcawYzKklLi4x7wEe0/s400/23+IMG_3571.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ladybug clearly was spent from all of the commotion.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJQsoAhVI9vHpEXQBN3gkSHTjlHr_B-BX72lTCk9XjtiNG0K5cmmzmhGu7c08QasRA_SVksagrkAFF72C8-JvbMnKXMSABbX1s4Fwxb9ENcuEsTIyBaNkhqEcmcozVsYUXT5o/s1600/24+IMG_3581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJQsoAhVI9vHpEXQBN3gkSHTjlHr_B-BX72lTCk9XjtiNG0K5cmmzmhGu7c08QasRA_SVksagrkAFF72C8-JvbMnKXMSABbX1s4Fwxb9ENcuEsTIyBaNkhqEcmcozVsYUXT5o/s400/24+IMG_3581.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once the tents were all packed away, the boys decided to take over Little G's playhouse...it's much better than a tent - it has its own kitchen, you know.</td></tr>
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Occupy _____ Street was such a great success (especially for me...I got to go inside and sleep in my bed all by myself). I'm really looking forward to this being a summer staple for us.<br />
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Did you ever camp in your back yard when you were a kid?Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-2771091479713868002012-11-21T08:00:00.000-05:002012-11-28T12:41:37.849-05:00Summer's Best Two Weeks - week two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/11/summers-best-two-weeks-week-one.html" target="_blank">Previously</a>, we had traipsed all around the Boston area on our days off and I had discovered that if we kept ourselves busy, than we we actually had a fun time.</div>
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WEEK TWO Monday</div>
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On Monday in the morning, I had an eye doctor appointment at Mass Eye and Ear. I had been so nervous about having the kids with me, but couldn't cancel the appointment. So I packed up all of our stuff and we headed out, but THIS time, I brought the iPad and Little G's headphones with us so we could watch the Winnie the Pooh movie (conveniently, exactly an hour long). Of course, for the first time EVER they were running on time and I was literally done in less than 20 minutes! So we headed back to the park where we had been on Sunday so that the Ladybug could get out of the stroller and Little G could continue watching his movie.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimh6WMpWBYaFvRZrt6I0d5gz6I3tDm8T7oG1lNPgAmQQ5HCL2Cn1lVmzdGDVgYhlf17wq35KNhVgexND0vQWcoVsVRNCMcU12uaHBMttz0kEtK8w9QQkyiF9AbwCz0zuF87uh1/s1600/IMG_3309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimh6WMpWBYaFvRZrt6I0d5gz6I3tDm8T7oG1lNPgAmQQ5HCL2Cn1lVmzdGDVgYhlf17wq35KNhVgexND0vQWcoVsVRNCMcU12uaHBMttz0kEtK8w9QQkyiF9AbwCz0zuF87uh1/s400/IMG_3309.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little G sits in a beautiful spot on the Charles River...watching an iPad. I can only imagine what people must have thought who were walking by this scene!</td></tr>
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After a while, and oddly, before the movie was even over, Little G decided he was done so we went back to the playground we had visited on Friday with my husband. My plan was to go to the Frog Pond in the Boston Common and play in the sprinkler park and then head home...but I forgot that in order to get to the Common from where we were, we had to walk past the Swan Boats in the Public Garden.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKu3PA0LoUAxED2qnyF0tSBiyKzWkKYFsYT_RXE2GlA-zq9dXPdmPgWdsAMynEe2IUJ3STUPsQsQl4qi3C8B1Z8KhiqTHkTfDoIAC5LBucKtOhKHGxqaDwkOd2ru0Rg6e3TpOB/s1600/IMG_3325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKu3PA0LoUAxED2qnyF0tSBiyKzWkKYFsYT_RXE2GlA-zq9dXPdmPgWdsAMynEe2IUJ3STUPsQsQl4qi3C8B1Z8KhiqTHkTfDoIAC5LBucKtOhKHGxqaDwkOd2ru0Rg6e3TpOB/s400/IMG_3325.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little G checks out the Swan Boats and the ducks</td></tr>
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And here's where things get a little embarassing. I generally don't carry cash with me, opting instead to carry my license, ATM card and a credit card in a case along with my phone. This works really well for me except for times when I happen upon cash-only establishments...such as the Swan Boats. Because Little G is three, we work very hard to set expectations and thus diminish meltdowns and tantrums. So we walked up to the Swan Boat kiosk, but I told him (and repeated myself several times) that if they didn't take plastic money than we weren't going to ride on them today. Of course, since I was saying that out loud, the tourists gathered around all heard me and started offering to pay for our ride. I was mortified. Mostly because I felt like a panhandler, but also because these kind people had no idea that we were locals who can enjoy the Swan Boats whenever we want. But they were all very persistent and then I felt like a Swan Boat Grinch, so I took their offers and we headed onto the Swan Boats! It was the Lady Bug's first ride and she woke up from her morning nap in my trusty Storchenweige wrap just in time to enjoy it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping both children safe on the boat while simultaneously taking pictures and getting snacks out of the diaper bag was quite the challenge.</td></tr>
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One of the logistics that gave me anxiety each day were potty logistics. For the most part, we were able to find potties to go to since Little G was mostly potty trained at that time. However, when he announced to me after the Swan Boats that he had to poop(!) I mildly panicked! You see, there really isn't anywhere to go for a public bathroom when you are in the Public Garden. I looked up desperately and saw the Four Seasons gleaming down at me. So I hauled the kids over and walked inside and explained to the concierge that my son was potty training and could we use the bathroom. He mentioned that there was a bathroom at the back of the restaurant down the hall and then looked at the Ladybug in the stroller and promptly suggested I take the elevator to the second floor and use the bathroom by the conference rooms since there were lots of steps all throughout the restaurant. <br />
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I headed up the elevator and when we got to the bathrooms they were locked!! Then Little G said rather desperately, "are we going to be at the bathroom's soon?" I went into action-mommy mode and quickly grabbed the Ladybug out of the stroller and abandoned the stroller at the top of the stairs and ran down the steps and into the restaurant. At the back, just as he had said, there were bathrooms. And not just bathrooms, but HUGE separate bathrooms...as in, the picture below is just one stall. I couldn't hold the Ladybug and help Little G, so I had to put her down. I decided the bathroom floor at the Four Seasons was probably MUCH cleaner than the floors in my own home and promptly plopped her down. Little G pooped. I took a picture -- because I'm apparently a freak -- and we traipsed out past the lunching ladies and back up the stairs to our stroller - tragedy avoided...just a normal day in the life of super-mom (please tell me you detect the sarcasm)! When we got home, the kids went down for their naps and I headed to a dentist appointment.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLie47o3OCxsbALeEUFA61ZxnDu0iYyG7iBiZGbJq6sTMicTYdE1epVHtf8R2_r1Xm0QYx3bYywT9jMoPXSdttcbm7zJszPeJkcsH_-UfPAn9V9PZ7UAjgDXMciK03hnMJHwh-/s1600/IMG_3332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLie47o3OCxsbALeEUFA61ZxnDu0iYyG7iBiZGbJq6sTMicTYdE1epVHtf8R2_r1Xm0QYx3bYywT9jMoPXSdttcbm7zJszPeJkcsH_-UfPAn9V9PZ7UAjgDXMciK03hnMJHwh-/s400/IMG_3332.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh yeah...I instagramed the hell out of this picture - I have no shame.</td></tr>
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Tuesday<br />
We did our normal bus, train, splash park, walk, lunch, CSA pick up, bus, home trip, but this time we did it with Little G's friend from school, Twirly Girl, and her mom and baby sister. When we got home the kids went down for their naps and I headed out to the orthopedist.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iJ0HO8FEwZFGe-7zgQFrHGVoCgvZT_ACACNZCcJoEx3VbV2S50z32QqiLP7bpRWkdTVoN3h0p-0oUoWaLqLpfhDo5Iya9BZlbSgqfCpIaJJz9kcg3h9BamZW9EsnJctPA4RY/s1600/IMG_3342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iJ0HO8FEwZFGe-7zgQFrHGVoCgvZT_ACACNZCcJoEx3VbV2S50z32QqiLP7bpRWkdTVoN3h0p-0oUoWaLqLpfhDo5Iya9BZlbSgqfCpIaJJz9kcg3h9BamZW9EsnJctPA4RY/s400/IMG_3342.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little G works on a puzzle before we head out for the day.</td></tr>
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Wednesday<br />
Since we had been out every day, we took a day to stay close to home, this may have also had to do with the fact that it was raining in the morning. We made forts out of sheets and chairs and eventually left the house to go get Little G's hair cut. In the afternoon, the kids napped while I headed to physical therapy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for our haircut</td></tr>
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Thursday<br />
We had big plans for Thursday with our beach friends from the week prior. We decided to head out to one of the Harbor Islands for a picnic lunch. One of the great things about Little G's age is that the adventure is all in getting there and isn't just about the destination. We booked tickets for the Boston Harbor Cruise and after our typical bus to train ride we caught a boat out to George's Island. We only ended up staying for a little over an hour before we had to get in line to catch the next boat back, but it seriously was an awesome adventure! After making our way home the kids went down for their naps and I headed to a therapy appointment and then to an event at Boston's FLOR store.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading out of Boston Harbor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little G chases some geese on the island</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the closest we got to exploring the fort because it was "dark and scary"!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew on our way home! I seriously love my mama friend.</td></tr>
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Friday<br />
My sister came to visit her fiance who lives in Maine and she flew into Boston, so they visited with us for a couple of hours in the morning. Afterwards, Little G and I tackled half of the ginormous basil crop in our garden and made a few batches of pesto to use through the winter. My husband stayed home from work that day so he stayed with the kids while I headed to physical therapy again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a lotttttta basil!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My helper</td></tr>
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Saturday<br />
It was the beginning of the long Labor Day weekend so we headed out to a local playground to check out the sprinklers. It was a generally low-key day in preparation for the next day, Sunday, which was potentially going to be epic! But you'll just have to wait to see what happened... (<a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/11/occupy-our-street.html" target="_blank">click here to see the next post in this series</a>)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ladybug enjoys a slide</td></tr>
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Interested in seeing what we pack for a day out like this? Click <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/11/what-to-bring.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</div>
<br />Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-24011498365486555472012-11-19T10:10:00.003-05:002012-11-28T12:41:02.623-05:00Summer's Best Two Weeks - week one<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So let's go back again. Back to the summer. I wanted to write about this as it was happening as it was truly magical, but we were so busy and life was so full, that there was just no time to even comprehend all of it, no less write about it. But let me start at the beginning.</div>
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You see, for all of the summer, Little G had attended 'camp' at his former school. I dropped him off at 8:30am and picked him up at 5:00pm and while he was away he did all SORTS of things: the Children's Museum, the Science Museum, the Frog Pond, a community center with a pool, the Arboretum, various playgrounds, etc. Many times doing two of those things a day! He often came home exhausted, having not napped, but deliriously happy. Little G had camp for five weeks during the summer, prior to and just after going to the beach for the summer*. Then, after that camp ended, he attended a Welcome-to-School camp for a week at the school where he started this past Fall.</div>
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At the end of a full summer, there were two weeks staring at me on the calendar. Two weeks with no camp and no school. Two weeks entertaining an energetic, feisty three year old. We were hoping that the woman who was going to start nannying our daughter and our neighbor's son in the Fall would be available to help out those two weeks, but she had a gig for all of August for the mornings. I ended up hiring her to come to our house in the afternoons so that I could run to a whole host of appointments varying from physical therapy to the dentist to the orthopedist, etc. In the meantime, I needed to figure out what we were going to do to keep ourselves from going crazy.</div>
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I was terrified.</div>
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So, I defaulted to the plan I always make when faced with such a dilemma and I made sure we got out of the house every day...and when I say get out, I mean we got OUT!! Here's a not-so-quick rundown of our very full days:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcNTZOjYz_5lg6wOGjKRp2SMg11G8FCVY999KzJgCijUL3SfJfhw7dYmMglreMiR0CiGW7yPohkbNHDnXSYeWWS8TsPvRCbEtcj7TilXVyk4NjGUbpujsl5WqVs1Em29oDK1_/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcNTZOjYz_5lg6wOGjKRp2SMg11G8FCVY999KzJgCijUL3SfJfhw7dYmMglreMiR0CiGW7yPohkbNHDnXSYeWWS8TsPvRCbEtcj7TilXVyk4NjGUbpujsl5WqVs1Em29oDK1_/s400/IMG_3467.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our VERY full calendar. I didn't write our daily activities on there, but you can see I had something going on pretty much every afternoon after the kids went down for their naps.</td></tr>
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WEEK ONE - Monday</div>
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I don't have any pictures from this day - but we were lucky enough to know about a story-time and lunch time activity at a local church, so we headed there. Afterwards, we went to a playground and then headed home to meet the nanny so I could head off to physical therapy.</div>
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Tuesday</div>
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Over the summer, Tuesday is the day we pick up our CSA box. The previous summer, when Little G wasn't in camp, we would head out together on the bus and then the subway to get to a sprinkler park where we met friends. Then we would head to get some lunch and afterwards, we would pick up our share and take the bus home in time for Little G to sleep. This summer, with him in school, he missed most of the pick up days, so it was nice to head back to our stomping grounds with his sister along as well.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2p-PhiaETzwy3L8tsjOnQDxq110owI1Hdo7kxDI7dcdkvKYBYpnhb_6pUxUGinxihD4HtbU2qZO6Q6zsesWAEnFO2Pe2dYBD7J6AZ5KXqshEIdRgmTkHLsT_C6EYjXjaNGtv/s1600/IMG_3211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2p-PhiaETzwy3L8tsjOnQDxq110owI1Hdo7kxDI7dcdkvKYBYpnhb_6pUxUGinxihD4HtbU2qZO6Q6zsesWAEnFO2Pe2dYBD7J6AZ5KXqshEIdRgmTkHLsT_C6EYjXjaNGtv/s400/IMG_3211.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little G pushes the stroller at the subway/bus stop</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmo8pH71jQltmkyncaM-R4tqQMbbB6DljfxSxr2EvweiNdqkj3-BX4A2RIOCJLuYjUEMn_glXw5cD6eJX7oIuMXjGLpZqFijwdorjQL-ElP0tEZIhDVRmKVXIDF_MN7RHSrQH/s1600/IMG_3217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmo8pH71jQltmkyncaM-R4tqQMbbB6DljfxSxr2EvweiNdqkj3-BX4A2RIOCJLuYjUEMn_glXw5cD6eJX7oIuMXjGLpZqFijwdorjQL-ElP0tEZIhDVRmKVXIDF_MN7RHSrQH/s400/IMG_3217.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After nap time (there was no nanny that day) we were able to get some play time in in our back yard...because he seriously never quits!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWu8HFp2c5uVfHrVpHz_s0Ckw7s97JYypl-kEZD08Cy7LNMUun_FTkQFl-NHSKtjmjgzd00bIv3QSv0DASHzHnqdspiPm4p9cwixZG6cHXwTNMgWb0jbchVSz-VjTOJlkqrdtY/s1600/IMG_3221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWu8HFp2c5uVfHrVpHz_s0Ckw7s97JYypl-kEZD08Cy7LNMUun_FTkQFl-NHSKtjmjgzd00bIv3QSv0DASHzHnqdspiPm4p9cwixZG6cHXwTNMgWb0jbchVSz-VjTOJlkqrdtY/s400/IMG_3221.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Wednesday</div>
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I decided to head out to the Science Museum with the kids since Little G always talked about how much fun he had there. We left the house with the stroller and took the bus to the T and then switched lines at some point and walked over to the Science Museum. I had never been other than for specific exhibits like the StarWars exhibit or Lord of the Rings, so it was great to witness Little G rediscover some of the things he had liked earlier in the summer. After the long treck home, I headed to Physical Therapy.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Dxie-F-Hpkfwn45tRZGr26Hf7Yb83cthcyV6YN5g_8URiJYcjDzeMoLqtlZh63PUvLqaZNTxZErXxDdn2DJZUZzNDDDItmmx5j1JNSstsQbGwk9sKt4aah5XAM7Oh_ggNdZu/s1600/IMG_3224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Dxie-F-Hpkfwn45tRZGr26Hf7Yb83cthcyV6YN5g_8URiJYcjDzeMoLqtlZh63PUvLqaZNTxZErXxDdn2DJZUZzNDDDItmmx5j1JNSstsQbGwk9sKt4aah5XAM7Oh_ggNdZu/s400/IMG_3224.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out the Charles River view from the museum</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEti1ExM7icJsnK00eRdJ2E8DQiPWsrSoFmqe0TraE4ZUo9GVbVQWtpn6obtVER2dDap2bRnTrSiBP3JvU5ytOQRiy-s7MYlxreiKBJQA0m7PFqC-dgDoH4en8SF3DEUDEOIea/s1600/IMG_3237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEti1ExM7icJsnK00eRdJ2E8DQiPWsrSoFmqe0TraE4ZUo9GVbVQWtpn6obtVER2dDap2bRnTrSiBP3JvU5ytOQRiy-s7MYlxreiKBJQA0m7PFqC-dgDoH4en8SF3DEUDEOIea/s400/IMG_3237.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little G explores a wind exhibit</td></tr>
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Thursday<br />
Little G has a friend from his camp who's mom has become a good friend of mine. She is funny and friendly and she gets my jokes and I just love her and her son. She's also expecting a baby daughter in early December so she claims she's been using me as her mentor for getting out and doing things with the kids. We decided to head to the beach that day. Unfortunately, where we headed was rather mucky and it was low tide, so we made a last minute change to the plans that added at least 40 minutes to our drive! By the time we found a place to park in the crowded beach town where we ended up, we really only had 90 minutes to eat our picnic lunches and enjoy the beach...that said, we had a blast. But a beach with babies and preschoolers is not a great place for picture taking, so I only got this one of both my kids sleeping in the back seat of the car. This was HUGE as I can't remember Little G falling asleep in the car since he was a baby. After tucking both kids into their beds to continue their naps, I headed out to go grocery shopping.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy608YmVLH5sgqdI1J9gRtuGj4qwye_4StIBTSU0FIWp3Q1GW35Nyuwp3WF2h-wVQgjma3faMNulKhIgbW9SYou74ixXeDwHdRelGFg7BK4-JX0IAqQ7XAVSa2G88aUa5XOdAd/s1600/IMG_3242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy608YmVLH5sgqdI1J9gRtuGj4qwye_4StIBTSU0FIWp3Q1GW35Nyuwp3WF2h-wVQgjma3faMNulKhIgbW9SYou74ixXeDwHdRelGFg7BK4-JX0IAqQ7XAVSa2G88aUa5XOdAd/s400/IMG_3242.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Friday</div>
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My husband took Friday off from work that week and instead of all of us hanging around at the house, I thought it would be fun for him to see just what it is we do with our days. So we all headed out on the bus to the T and decided to explore a park near the Charles River. It was great for my husband to get a better idea of the enormity of what I do every day logistically to get our kids out of the house for the day. Eventually we made our way back home and I got ready to go out with my 2nd time mommy friends.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9R9SeFWrQGKDWBmWdqxCV0ewxFOyaqApW4w0oczjg30Jpkxm_y_ONl4t6x4tG0QXygwr1Tfpio3z4CXV8CAiM0s2au83G7ESfBUln7-zEHLuX5uLV9SWcCDGf8IbtMODlDIo/s1600/IMG_3244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9R9SeFWrQGKDWBmWdqxCV0ewxFOyaqApW4w0oczjg30Jpkxm_y_ONl4t6x4tG0QXygwr1Tfpio3z4CXV8CAiM0s2au83G7ESfBUln7-zEHLuX5uLV9SWcCDGf8IbtMODlDIo/s400/IMG_3244.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little G rides the T</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbEUmFgYClk3Rz7jAWsi37ri6dRLe9p-H0MuVyUkc5G51AW-1-p-Ierh7vKBZ6Cm9ddjgf_X2HoYqQcqKczNwvrR69jB5D3Lx8_BmwryR3YFVkZIk50WP1Z8oo9m2jfDLTR8R/s1600/IMG_3247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbEUmFgYClk3Rz7jAWsi37ri6dRLe9p-H0MuVyUkc5G51AW-1-p-Ierh7vKBZ6Cm9ddjgf_X2HoYqQcqKczNwvrR69jB5D3Lx8_BmwryR3YFVkZIk50WP1Z8oo9m2jfDLTR8R/s400/IMG_3247.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved being able to take a picture back towards the Science Museum, especially since we had been there earlier in the week.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Qh57l_74N_-Vwb6URvcJ3hsFLwdg4N8WQAEAnrAVya7ktzDhD9VyprL_JdAo9JUatdP2l59kWvnz6jddcC79WxTAw5dNK212wKzxj0p80z2ODHMr40G0HpPhxVGJus9nGYgs/s1600/IMG_3266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Qh57l_74N_-Vwb6URvcJ3hsFLwdg4N8WQAEAnrAVya7ktzDhD9VyprL_JdAo9JUatdP2l59kWvnz6jddcC79WxTAw5dNK212wKzxj0p80z2ODHMr40G0HpPhxVGJus9nGYgs/s400/IMG_3266.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure I would allowed this were I on my own, but with my husband right there, we let Little G explore the floating docks so he could see the boats more closely. He's actually very trustworthy in situations like this because he's used to the pool at our neighbor's house that has a deck surrounding it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3MHs9cxFzOB68vm9yTlMbIS6QmNZDu3VHbmLmfpgqtlyX1ZqDEx1mthrSm-XivrVn42THt4Fz_pCRUcOb89ytKcwPuFDCaeN1IfH_nhkg_nJ-moNssIJlIq5ibqpIErPN6BY/s1600/IMG_3275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3MHs9cxFzOB68vm9yTlMbIS6QmNZDu3VHbmLmfpgqtlyX1ZqDEx1mthrSm-XivrVn42THt4Fz_pCRUcOb89ytKcwPuFDCaeN1IfH_nhkg_nJ-moNssIJlIq5ibqpIErPN6BY/s400/IMG_3275.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I met my 2nd time mommy friends at Legal's Harborside and it was DELISH!! Smart me - I took the bus and the T for the third time that day, just so I could drink respectably and cab it home at the end of the night ;)</td></tr>
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Saturday<br />
As per usual during the summer, we spent our weekend over at our neighbors' house enjoying their pool. This picture seriously makes me miss summer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVQWUR4SRkm9K1QHCAEZbdVwPwcJTiIl4Nre4_cI1bQ0L-vT_HPrY2U5TbUf1iSzsn9sU6eVtnX1mXxWOEltioeVFLJZ9i0iYjhhibaUeoxsk8cjg1pAET4rOr32OjR5k7Uv9/s1600/IMG_3299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVQWUR4SRkm9K1QHCAEZbdVwPwcJTiIl4Nre4_cI1bQ0L-vT_HPrY2U5TbUf1iSzsn9sU6eVtnX1mXxWOEltioeVFLJZ9i0iYjhhibaUeoxsk8cjg1pAET4rOr32OjR5k7Uv9/s400/IMG_3299.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
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Sunday</div>
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I don't have a picture of this, but we had a playdate for the new students at Little G's school that day after church. He had a great time meeting some new friends.</div>
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The week came to a close and I realized that it hadn't been nearly as scary as I had thought it would be...but there was still a week to go... (<a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/11/summers-best-two-weeks-week-two.html" target="_blank">click here to read the next post in this series</a>)</div>
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*<i> I haven't spoken up on this blog about the complete and total heartbreak I feel over my beloved Jersey Shore. The beach I call my own that I grew up with, as well as the town that they were in, are completely decimated. There isn't a single structure that wasn't affected. Most are unsalvageable. In time, I hope to write more about my thoughts on the storm and the aftermath, but this post is not the place.</i></div>
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Interested in seeing what we pack for a day out like this? Click <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/11/what-to-bring.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</div>
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Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-3082342996688267422012-11-14T10:28:00.001-05:002012-11-14T10:28:36.408-05:00TrenchesPeople often refer to this time, this time with small children, as the trenches. I know I have. It is no secret that parenting Little G has been overwhelming and discouraging at times. I have felt angry and out-of-control at times. I have felt guilty that I couldn't seem to handle it as well as other mommies. I have felt ashamed that my child has acted out towards me in ways that I have never seen other children do with their mothers. I have felt despair that I am not cut out to be a mother. I have felt accused of not being a positive enough person. I have felt lonely. I have felt confused. I have felt isolated. I have felt defeated.<br />
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Of course, parenting isn't all black and white. It isn't ever going to be that my child is more difficult or more spirited than yours. Or that I am not as positive a person as you are. Or that I am being overly dramatic about my situation.<br />
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Instead, there are so many different factors behind all of the ebbs and tides and flows of my relationship with Little G. <br />
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<a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/05/finding-light.html" target="_blank">I shared my darkness with you once</a>. It was frightening to consider that I might be the problem and thus I might have to be the solution. <br />
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I have been seeing a therapist and have been taking a new prescription for a medication that I know in the deepest place of my heart has truly helped me to weed through all of the deep emotional pain and dark thoughts that have bombarded my mind since I became a mother. I have been gaining confidence in my parenting skills and my point of view and the overflowing amount of love I have for both of my children. And yet, with this piece of the puzzle fitting in place, Little G is still struggling. Because it isn't just me. It is him too.<br />
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We are looking down the long road of a potential Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) evaluation and diagnosis. Little G is so bright and caring and smart and intuitive. I both pray desperately that this is the answer and at the same time, I know deep in my heart that just like our relationship as parent and child, there is no, one, key for the many ebbs and tides and flows of Little G.<br />
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These are the trenches. This is where we are. And yet, even in this deep, dark place, as we slog our way through, I feel hope. It isn't a feeling I am used to over the course of the last three years. And that is what therapy and medication has given me. Because now, instead of fumbling around in the dark, I finally feel like someone has left a light on for me.Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-89526741950136109602012-11-05T10:53:00.002-05:002012-11-05T10:54:07.503-05:00Little G's thoughts on GodYesterday on the way to church Little G and I listened to what he calls, "God Music". Basically, I have never been able to turn off pop music in the car, even with the kids in there, so on Sundays, to keep Little G from breaking out into Ke$ha in Sunday School, I play the one and only children's Christian music album I have. It actually isn't as awful as it could be...it is literally verses set to music, so if nothing else, maybe someday when he has to memorize ten bible verses for Christian Athletic Camp, he'll be that much further ahead.<br />
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Anyway, as we were getting out of the car at church, Little G turned to me thoughtfully and asked, "will God be at church?"<br />
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I said, "Yes, He'll be inside. He's also with us all the time in our hearts." <br />
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That seemed to satisfy him so we headed inside.<br />
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After church, we stopped at the playground next door and there were big piles of leaves left over from the storm. Little G ran through a pile and exclaimed, "Oh my GOD, look at all'o these leaves!"<br />
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I've been trying to encourage him to not say the Lord's name in vain and have told him that we only say 'Oh my God' if we are praying or talking directly TO God. So I looked at him and said, "How about 'Oh my Goodness'".<br />
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To which he looked at me and said, "No mommy, God is HERE, so I can say 'Oh my God'!"<br />
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Why yes He is here, Little G. I stand corrected.Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-70721565846676126292012-10-27T06:39:00.000-04:002012-10-27T06:39:12.817-04:00A Year Ago<br />
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A year ago, my belly was round and hard and swollen and filled with you, my beautiful daughter.<br />
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A year ago, I had so many desires for you and so many anxieties about change and no time to actually ruminate long on any of it because I was chasing around your brother.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">A year ago, I only had a sample of one to consider when trying to understand what we were in for.</span></div>
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A year ago, I wondered how our family would change, how we would stay the same.</div>
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A year ago, I had no idea how I would continue to handle chasing around your brother with you alive and in our house.</div>
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A year ago, I worried that having you in our lives might send me over the edge.</div>
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A year ago, I eased my anxieties by convincing myself if I could just survive the first year, I'd be ok.</div>
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A year ago, I walked around for weeks, my hips and pelvis aching; ready to birth you.</div>
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A year ago, I was not expecting you so soon, though I wanted you here desperately.</div>
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A year ago I felt contractions start early in the morning.</div>
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A year ago, I readied myself to go to the hospital and meet you and those contractions abated.</div>
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A year ago, I roasted a pork belly and went about my day convinced my labor had stopped.<br />
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A year ago, I gathered with close friends and family and beautiful children and feasted together on a meal made with care and love.</div>
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A year ago, I gripped onto the banister in our foyer while everyone dined and held on for the ride.</div>
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A year ago, I kissed your brother goodnight and told him mommy might have a baby by the morning.</div>
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A year ago, I labored hard in our living room and wondered if I could do it.</div>
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A year ago, I headed out into the early-season snow with your father and our doula and we made our way to the hospital.<br />
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A year ago, I shocked the nursing staff by my arrival and my calm demeanor.<br />
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A year ago, I shocked myself by bursting my water all over the floor and the side of the bed.<br />
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A year ago, I birthed you, beautiful you; 10 pounds, 4.8 ounces; a head full of thick, matted, dark hair; cheeks your face could barely hold on to.</div>
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A year ago, I birthed you, beautiful you; standing next to the bed in one one push; feeling you exit my body in an uncontrollable need to have you alive outside of the womb.</div>
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A year ago, you arrived. You completed our family. You brought peace and wonder and joy. You brought tears and frustration. You brought smiles and giggles.</div>
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You brought love when our hearts were already full.</div>
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To my beautiful, sweet, amazing daughter: thank you for continuing to grow our hearts with love.<br />
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Happy Birthday.<br />
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Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-79661813100519963212012-10-24T11:17:00.001-04:002012-10-24T11:17:36.162-04:00Down the Shore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since we so successfully went back to the summer <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/10/litte-gs-3rd-birthday-party.html" target="_blank">in my last post</a>, I figured you could handle doing it again. In late July, we headed down to the Jersey shore for our annual pilgrimage. Our rental is from Sunday to Sunday which really helps from a traffic standpoint. Especially since we drive around 7 hours to get there! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All packed and ready to GO!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stopped halfway at a Children's Museum in Connecticut for lunch and to stretch our legs. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headed over the George Washington Bridge!</td></tr>
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We were the first of our family to arrive so I quickly headed up to take a picture of the beach and send it to my sister, her fiance and my mom...basically to make them jealous that we were there already ;) I was really surprised to see how little of the beach was left from the year prior. You can see the difference from last year's photos here: <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2011/08/jersey-shore.html" target="_blank">Jersey Shore</a>. </div>
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As the first ones to the house, we were also the first ones to find out the central air conditioning was broken! This wouldn't seem like an issue, but it was mid heat wave, one member of our partner suffers from health issues that can be exacerbated by the heat, and getting our then 9 month old to nap in the heat was extraordinarily challenging. I won't bore you with the details, but the lack of A/C and the logistics surrounding the eventual not-getting-it-fixed were tiresome and aggravating. Thankfully, if you have to be tired and aggravated, you might as well be on the beach, right? Yeah...that's what we told ourselves. </div>
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Anyway, on to the rest of the pictures. Eventually after we arrived, the rest of the family showed up and we were able to start our vacation!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surprising how fun a sliding glass door can be. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66PHOHEdLdaW_kv86PHI6uIYi1by1ibnhwzKYPsJwEZYWteWRc66ABqk1mloXCJ1xURkQpv_All5K73-iOpyCjm5rrc38jnyeNs3sd_KRH0Mq26V1nCq8Hs0O646z9Ar4zSpU/s1600/DSC_0085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66PHOHEdLdaW_kv86PHI6uIYi1by1ibnhwzKYPsJwEZYWteWRc66ABqk1mloXCJ1xURkQpv_All5K73-iOpyCjm5rrc38jnyeNs3sd_KRH0Mq26V1nCq8Hs0O646z9Ar4zSpU/s320/DSC_0085.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Story time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQWufkkCgrTBs8FCSlX9U-OMi1oUSzzz76gttl9FbIYp1jGx8vC4c5OEbeXaiY6AezHzd2nMEpEP1yhMF-pGpVop05GD-FwRVDSlxWOvOcEwIsNyLZM3NXdieWpuiqI28ulKs/s1600/DSC_0087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQWufkkCgrTBs8FCSlX9U-OMi1oUSzzz76gttl9FbIYp1jGx8vC4c5OEbeXaiY6AezHzd2nMEpEP1yhMF-pGpVop05GD-FwRVDSlxWOvOcEwIsNyLZM3NXdieWpuiqI28ulKs/s320/DSC_0087.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was our second year of week-long puzzle challenging - this year we actually finished! </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8LrmBFymqmC04gCnolOniIvqOgSWoXmPXlOWaLQolVbbXLAXf9jjjOhppfiHqjh3W2bhrpSno06nNQaFJq7JCI9A8wdhZuVFn9ZrzMoRQhrJ-zFhGYQQApEd-lfPhA3Il8VC/s1600/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8LrmBFymqmC04gCnolOniIvqOgSWoXmPXlOWaLQolVbbXLAXf9jjjOhppfiHqjh3W2bhrpSno06nNQaFJq7JCI9A8wdhZuVFn9ZrzMoRQhrJ-zFhGYQQApEd-lfPhA3Il8VC/s320/DSC_0094.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ladybug only made it to the beach once a day due to nap schedules. We had a small blow up pool for her since we figured (correctly) she'd be terrified of the ocean. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJN7xHdfpEfpxRHrXbVRKKAptOBMqjkFSfMKZJoV3CD_s3ItnFl-1HGbUdpCVbCEOB88veWRlxLIDFnH-NQnLaJjWjrt-AJTkjqYiPfzaaqsqgS7ruHj3A_QF5voVuJQgnBFs/s1600/DSC_0109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJN7xHdfpEfpxRHrXbVRKKAptOBMqjkFSfMKZJoV3CD_s3ItnFl-1HGbUdpCVbCEOB88veWRlxLIDFnH-NQnLaJjWjrt-AJTkjqYiPfzaaqsqgS7ruHj3A_QF5voVuJQgnBFs/s320/DSC_0109.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ladybug and daddy check out the waves. </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGgFSlcrLxli2FMXYYXRd_izkZSpCSe7pVuyuHiP4famUvDAmu-9OYVVJi5QqHuj9nEwjK9wXdTReA_ZD4Am3Vh1d9DrPOg2z1BP-qggPpH22pGHMAYBQmBMy_u4siTTen0RD/s1600/DSC_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGgFSlcrLxli2FMXYYXRd_izkZSpCSe7pVuyuHiP4famUvDAmu-9OYVVJi5QqHuj9nEwjK9wXdTReA_ZD4Am3Vh1d9DrPOg2z1BP-qggPpH22pGHMAYBQmBMy_u4siTTen0RD/s320/DSC_0117.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8r6BGnvdpSHgGEmHIRQuPW7U3X4y0L2geLE_5eNibRnqLS6j6m-f2MpFhEKLhdT6weEdMLWo7ipMiGEOAEvPhR820escBREY4gxxY7M-aBFIJKz39LdsxZvXTHFNhc9-iYIbg/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8r6BGnvdpSHgGEmHIRQuPW7U3X4y0L2geLE_5eNibRnqLS6j6m-f2MpFhEKLhdT6weEdMLWo7ipMiGEOAEvPhR820escBREY4gxxY7M-aBFIJKz39LdsxZvXTHFNhc9-iYIbg/s320/DSC_0124.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUFs9qjk2QBObY5dMdb2POtBvtYvZCPWqSlbQAvwgpFIKJsVNw9X2YqfMBTQ09Km7_SgzEnjFF6DZ1Y2Cj4fmHvCd7NOsmV8ifOTxXpiZsHmT_QpMFKZf_oz8G1L1k0FJeyqJ/s1600/DSC_0127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUFs9qjk2QBObY5dMdb2POtBvtYvZCPWqSlbQAvwgpFIKJsVNw9X2YqfMBTQ09Km7_SgzEnjFF6DZ1Y2Cj4fmHvCd7NOsmV8ifOTxXpiZsHmT_QpMFKZf_oz8G1L1k0FJeyqJ/s320/DSC_0127.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins digging in the sand</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYl11kK3aKy0MRCgoJKLEt_HOynYZOxIabZeHCUZ0mjjiRPdiNqRJOFZ1nWRu1_Qh7YemMpAdNcr9qjNBJ7LX7lq-IJAc5Qcr_aZoBecW08aSiSPit8iyEIwSOgPWFXx8WyIU/s1600/DSC_0132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYl11kK3aKy0MRCgoJKLEt_HOynYZOxIabZeHCUZ0mjjiRPdiNqRJOFZ1nWRu1_Qh7YemMpAdNcr9qjNBJ7LX7lq-IJAc5Qcr_aZoBecW08aSiSPit8iyEIwSOgPWFXx8WyIU/s320/DSC_0132.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQELOQUCsbbtMlTVvTsu4WCxWuenAKAPUufRoMTA6X-sDlxmZdhUatbJKNB7V_Rw9zJYcFj_FIy6qzNhxPbVuo0pmARXjfnngJvSCyx8Nkld7XJs0OhdZyqqeakz1AZnCSgEwT/s1600/DSC_0138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQELOQUCsbbtMlTVvTsu4WCxWuenAKAPUufRoMTA6X-sDlxmZdhUatbJKNB7V_Rw9zJYcFj_FIy6qzNhxPbVuo0pmARXjfnngJvSCyx8Nkld7XJs0OhdZyqqeakz1AZnCSgEwT/s320/DSC_0138.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"No I will NOT put my feet in the ocean, daddy!" </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeVNOhnzX-ASEhte-q3PQDDZLlSm9BZ5a6yP5cb0Bpi6pSRqwxGoS2s3WFhDJGNfqE0hXalncpAAcE6bf5wy3550iIC6LuekyhIxzM4hEeIbz65S42MHdC9zrTXSCvQvZ_tV4b/s1600/DSC_0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeVNOhnzX-ASEhte-q3PQDDZLlSm9BZ5a6yP5cb0Bpi6pSRqwxGoS2s3WFhDJGNfqE0hXalncpAAcE6bf5wy3550iIC6LuekyhIxzM4hEeIbz65S42MHdC9zrTXSCvQvZ_tV4b/s320/DSC_0139.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protesting the ocean is exhausting.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoo68VNy0SzU3tNvaAum_fz4cSg4hx7HdU1HuHeNXqH7tpsFylmJfNT22F3s7X-_7mV_CUIZzqo5Ar9GR9ZHZS4lT_Qv1qqoE2d_nlD8sA3AtoyzxRm2mY829ZWF2ypwN9OZg/s1600/DSC_0141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoo68VNy0SzU3tNvaAum_fz4cSg4hx7HdU1HuHeNXqH7tpsFylmJfNT22F3s7X-_7mV_CUIZzqo5Ar9GR9ZHZS4lT_Qv1qqoE2d_nlD8sA3AtoyzxRm2mY829ZWF2ypwN9OZg/s320/DSC_0141.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKlxJt39rLMEry8vpDwV-gOU61qOgDj8EOiUp1FzAASlV_9QlGNWdIoUxVdJ4jcAhyphenhyphenY1TuaHuRh7jXHOyddrbPPeUqW4J7hthOJDh3HNiqyRAr5md1jMAgcXxE0qog2YkMvNFy/s1600/DSC_0144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKlxJt39rLMEry8vpDwV-gOU61qOgDj8EOiUp1FzAASlV_9QlGNWdIoUxVdJ4jcAhyphenhyphenY1TuaHuRh7jXHOyddrbPPeUqW4J7hthOJDh3HNiqyRAr5md1jMAgcXxE0qog2YkMvNFy/s320/DSC_0144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0x-63OhbHL7njMsRvh1p_sjCnIV8u2nDWN3FrxwRARBdNxIdBkMOh1C0yAIJW9rfFRdIQcTDTTvri1GZFodLG5-XWpCnPNc7JfgIYnsi2-60lnAUMWANKaICXp8qGUA8xDBBf/s1600/DSC_0159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0x-63OhbHL7njMsRvh1p_sjCnIV8u2nDWN3FrxwRARBdNxIdBkMOh1C0yAIJW9rfFRdIQcTDTTvri1GZFodLG5-XWpCnPNc7JfgIYnsi2-60lnAUMWANKaICXp8qGUA8xDBBf/s320/DSC_0159.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some downtime for the boys</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwVeWMFc6Pt4pXhiNE2N0zhxeGfRobe9KmmtG3J6_j49sqnCRss7B8GzBeOjtBWqMTx7LEwnkQq6dNxcgsttfbcoEHdhYzviOIKjeK5R6aoqmuxKJUPO0WT27-2BJYHK2sdgi/s1600/DSC_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwVeWMFc6Pt4pXhiNE2N0zhxeGfRobe9KmmtG3J6_j49sqnCRss7B8GzBeOjtBWqMTx7LEwnkQq6dNxcgsttfbcoEHdhYzviOIKjeK5R6aoqmuxKJUPO0WT27-2BJYHK2sdgi/s320/DSC_0162.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister and <a href="http://marthaspong.com/" target="_blank">Songbird</a> in their custom, matching shirts</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJuNGP6ONgIzRqkSv8RftDm9msHXR_fiQL_rcpXSVMvaNK6xYeuRfflE2Dmz69QQRzhnAgv1ohT1EZ5JB3yyIRkHh8EO_sRbJdFX7qQ4Y3AxIulmZCONBshko_ikFhaykI9k9/s1600/IMG_2906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJuNGP6ONgIzRqkSv8RftDm9msHXR_fiQL_rcpXSVMvaNK6xYeuRfflE2Dmz69QQRzhnAgv1ohT1EZ5JB3yyIRkHh8EO_sRbJdFX7qQ4Y3AxIulmZCONBshko_ikFhaykI9k9/s320/IMG_2906.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrigley the dog is an excellent vacuum</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSH-fAbj5YlhtfdTC_P7MF6bEG-0Qkg1CigPp1-B5OX9WtZb2bOpRmTOX7EAz_zvVxwVOkH4WakkitMgceOr5Vva61DnFbIkngxrbvbTfuNz9Xk_xIkX7sHkbOCBErrRyrTJwe/s1600/IMG_2909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSH-fAbj5YlhtfdTC_P7MF6bEG-0Qkg1CigPp1-B5OX9WtZb2bOpRmTOX7EAz_zvVxwVOkH4WakkitMgceOr5Vva61DnFbIkngxrbvbTfuNz9Xk_xIkX7sHkbOCBErrRyrTJwe/s320/IMG_2909.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'Margarets'</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXpjkn-GSnJgwyRuhlf7wvkM6bVIwkDEOTaMCi5ZFb8pBHF_CWkdO12exhMYoO3Ol8yChIqlMorvWjkxxFxShGQ4vXKfxSkMThU8zyoBWJBSnObiLZNSst8eWKoYqnwUkKzst/s1600/IMG_2910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXpjkn-GSnJgwyRuhlf7wvkM6bVIwkDEOTaMCi5ZFb8pBHF_CWkdO12exhMYoO3Ol8yChIqlMorvWjkxxFxShGQ4vXKfxSkMThU8zyoBWJBSnObiLZNSst8eWKoYqnwUkKzst/s320/IMG_2910.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaly biiiiiiiiiig hole...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCesjfXmrxK8oiarwhJ5d4moU8bzwIKH-H2xXEa70r2NPHVRfvoLAnOoELpQCLhEbVFbOOTG7T1R-wt7QG1r8qmtDq478KjepY8ltjx9J6C0LkhnY-oNhyphenhyphen_NEVffOCKtkWi22/s1600/IMG_2911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCesjfXmrxK8oiarwhJ5d4moU8bzwIKH-H2xXEa70r2NPHVRfvoLAnOoELpQCLhEbVFbOOTG7T1R-wt7QG1r8qmtDq478KjepY8ltjx9J6C0LkhnY-oNhyphenhyphen_NEVffOCKtkWi22/s320/IMG_2911.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and now a small swimming pool.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyHyT8blEEieV85HNIh2snmzQkplTJdCog78Q7AuIUSEiyyopiZqQeZmzq8R3Y4LTh5xjshBeyNEMkQiVSe_0cL5AWqz8D3v9GenUiFxpWSF0Hw-KWSchF3SrWBUtrr-Y8psj/s1600/IMG_2915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyHyT8blEEieV85HNIh2snmzQkplTJdCog78Q7AuIUSEiyyopiZqQeZmzq8R3Y4LTh5xjshBeyNEMkQiVSe_0cL5AWqz8D3v9GenUiFxpWSF0Hw-KWSchF3SrWBUtrr-Y8psj/s320/IMG_2915.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ladybug catches some rays with her aunties</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFBUqT9ZgEhKhy18dozCrshrobUTvhsqoBdamnn7cb4DfpXqD_k0_H0xB36ecaFy5VRy_OWvy8nk-6E3jn3Y8AUaGdkkXTWYLcbEHb7TnzG7GfdQRW8kGrgP0L9ffHnwITUtc/s1600/IMG_2924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFBUqT9ZgEhKhy18dozCrshrobUTvhsqoBdamnn7cb4DfpXqD_k0_H0xB36ecaFy5VRy_OWvy8nk-6E3jn3Y8AUaGdkkXTWYLcbEHb7TnzG7GfdQRW8kGrgP0L9ffHnwITUtc/s320/IMG_2924.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The caption and the face says it all...he finished it off by drinking the last bits out of the cup! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhcj_LATAGVM_2jA-8lXDCKRRQNDzGZpEYVZtWPg_dOr3k4U1TzEjFIVaJLsZfVCPeTYzSNbjTlGQIm6gGu9_qQ__8lJT7eIAZi-39fP3fMnMh61Cl_IEOEVHQ-Hv8leKbyf8/s1600/IMG_2927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhcj_LATAGVM_2jA-8lXDCKRRQNDzGZpEYVZtWPg_dOr3k4U1TzEjFIVaJLsZfVCPeTYzSNbjTlGQIm6gGu9_qQ__8lJT7eIAZi-39fP3fMnMh61Cl_IEOEVHQ-Hv8leKbyf8/s320/IMG_2927.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ladybug takes her first bike ride!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post dinner UNO competition</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-TD3YrAXsdlBy7RyT13PBvfYLlQBXJK0LBrQt8RZ9hPpXt6tLB3MdDkXP1C7JsAQolrWNew3A3IZxOD-RVOYP8xk33GZ5_KkXWHeK-D2x3uBemlPgrvaSVIBvBU_8Vuifq-c/s1600/IMG_2935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-TD3YrAXsdlBy7RyT13PBvfYLlQBXJK0LBrQt8RZ9hPpXt6tLB3MdDkXP1C7JsAQolrWNew3A3IZxOD-RVOYP8xk33GZ5_KkXWHeK-D2x3uBemlPgrvaSVIBvBU_8Vuifq-c/s320/IMG_2935.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surfer girl gets a rash guard!</td></tr>
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</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPF7-HZQAhTihsLCTXEXCaMqHQu7He5LT5Kj0L0tRoOy2KoZGVzRlriaUhqJA4h9H_sIm271mpwfBzNHvXVR-brrcckEizvIrqfWBP2s8UCmxxeAqbJnOpVkrXav95ijf5Ogt-/s1600/DSC_0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPF7-HZQAhTihsLCTXEXCaMqHQu7He5LT5Kj0L0tRoOy2KoZGVzRlriaUhqJA4h9H_sIm271mpwfBzNHvXVR-brrcckEizvIrqfWBP2s8UCmxxeAqbJnOpVkrXav95ijf5Ogt-/s320/DSC_0173.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTIzXjxfIiUJ9-SpylbiMfG6JAgQq2s3mhxPsV5GK5goiWNPlfd80ZK7OwjeI3M1ZhzbIBdtPyrm44sapdL3xxXAeCGPNQJsUjP1EurMGL-d9cvT6CQ7GkAw3klzpgzicZdhT/s1600/IMG_2938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTIzXjxfIiUJ9-SpylbiMfG6JAgQq2s3mhxPsV5GK5goiWNPlfd80ZK7OwjeI3M1ZhzbIBdtPyrm44sapdL3xxXAeCGPNQJsUjP1EurMGL-d9cvT6CQ7GkAw3klzpgzicZdhT/s320/IMG_2938.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Songbird's daughter, L, finishes off the puzzle</td></tr>
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On our second-to-last night at the beach, after days of no air conditioning, we decided against the lobster bake that we traditionally do because it was just. too. hot. Instead we sought out pizza with the intent of getting cool. Sadly, the place we picked out was just a dive with no A/C and barely any seats. Our spirits were beginning to dampen.<br />
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After the pizza dinner, my husband and I took our kids out to the lighthouse in the hope of catching some sort of cool breeze, but even there it was oppressively hot! The views were nice, though.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQI5BnhBofdvVs2hiirs8qnVqBjT7gXNEYl0BNSrE73zJybLeHOqz_fqA9i4LSKGovuYosfDEypB_NbK0Isb9SoAma3LjvO4Bs7hWj2HA5WA6ozMl83VJ5fHlad1X_UCHahyphenhyphenE/s1600/IMG_2945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQI5BnhBofdvVs2hiirs8qnVqBjT7gXNEYl0BNSrE73zJybLeHOqz_fqA9i4LSKGovuYosfDEypB_NbK0Isb9SoAma3LjvO4Bs7hWj2HA5WA6ozMl83VJ5fHlad1X_UCHahyphenhyphenE/s320/IMG_2945.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barnegat Light House</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out the waves</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4O4UgGTFVPj88VV7zbqTfIPfGXNKnui0xmlVjV0XHREQJwEZ0azMIwc-vP43T_FQORpvROMrRJnhF9T1YCtULK0tGY-hcd-XS2Uht-iwcgH9u4j6rKgYxeyLXph9uD6e-i0C/s1600/IMG_2957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4O4UgGTFVPj88VV7zbqTfIPfGXNKnui0xmlVjV0XHREQJwEZ0azMIwc-vP43T_FQORpvROMrRJnhF9T1YCtULK0tGY-hcd-XS2Uht-iwcgH9u4j6rKgYxeyLXph9uD6e-i0C/s320/IMG_2957.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The house only cooled to 82 degrees with major humidity by 10:00pm - and that was after FINALLY getting some fans from my husband's aunt who lives down the road.</td></tr>
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The next morning, we decided that after one last jaunt to the beach, we would vacate the premises even though we still had another night left. We had tried all week to get the kids together for an annual photo and it just wasn't going to work. Then, on that last trip out to the beach, a tide pool popped up behind a sandbar. It was just shallow enough, and warm enough, that the Ladybug was transfixed! I plopped her down in her complete outfit and diaper not even caring that she wasn't in her swim suit and she had a blast AND thanks to an iPhone 3 that Songbird had brought down with her, we got our picture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSuHMKGWrcCOgYTQV4UjbLB6vVmMcNSzQFiFO6n16bIf9ZuIiSEyIQA7eqKmA73WugXA5M42NuVt_e8WPFDZ5e2MEZfwcvNX0Ah5HQdrEzLao8UKOtWmLSfuE69bD2e9c0RPiT/s1600/Beach+2012+096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSuHMKGWrcCOgYTQV4UjbLB6vVmMcNSzQFiFO6n16bIf9ZuIiSEyIQA7eqKmA73WugXA5M42NuVt_e8WPFDZ5e2MEZfwcvNX0Ah5HQdrEzLao8UKOtWmLSfuE69bD2e9c0RPiT/s320/Beach+2012+096.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cousins at the beach!!</td></tr>
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Just like last year, I love looking back and seeing the difference in how big the boys are (Ladybug wasn't even HERE!!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2010 (G-1, W-5.5)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27TKxR-nyd9Y591WZ-HXKOnThFrWVEqk3A8NUWVjYBjY9PRIuQRk1MCYF3GHQvmDhpVbhkQq7PbfeQu989QWYQptNHBgJpmj3wVde-r_5q2NjYv_nA8NxK-PajBl8Ov4kz8sb/s1600/2011+beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27TKxR-nyd9Y591WZ-HXKOnThFrWVEqk3A8NUWVjYBjY9PRIuQRk1MCYF3GHQvmDhpVbhkQq7PbfeQu989QWYQptNHBgJpmj3wVde-r_5q2NjYv_nA8NxK-PajBl8Ov4kz8sb/s320/2011+beach.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 (G-2, W-6.5)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTux27n97it2gfJyMlgbbyc8lnR4z393OqiUYc8ibudjo1GS6sotDr6soxgbxkmOZnbtFLH9t2fElUL_QXu75KCxg6q0D1jeSGMX1kGY4bRKd91ww8IoQl09Lrcm8XP8Ecc-b/s1600/Beach+2012+094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTux27n97it2gfJyMlgbbyc8lnR4z393OqiUYc8ibudjo1GS6sotDr6soxgbxkmOZnbtFLH9t2fElUL_QXu75KCxg6q0D1jeSGMX1kGY4bRKd91ww8IoQl09Lrcm8XP8Ecc-b/s320/Beach+2012+094.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2012 (C-9mo, G-3, W7.5)</td></tr>
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We headed back to the house and packed up our things and headed out. Just as we were leaving, I took one last look at the thermostat. Almost 90 inside with oppressive humidity does NOT a good vacation make!<br />
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Fortunately, things were about to get a whole lot better. My husband's aunt and uncle have a vacation home on the island and were there with various cousins and kids. We headed there while my sister and her contingency headed off the island to a hotel in preparation for meeting up with someone the next day. The beer was cold and the A/C was even colder :) It was such a turnaround from the frustration of the other place and the perfect way to turn around our spirits.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Cocktail hour"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little G checks out a kayak</td></tr>
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We were able to get some fun pictures of the family while we were there as well.<br />
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And then, as if it couldn't have gotten any better, the ice cream truck showed up for the very first time in Little G's life. It was magical. He actually did a little dance when he realized there was an entire truck devoted to delivering ice cream.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TEnVhxtjRqpvQ5ZI1npyldexGwOoYJwCxAg9SKJSMMUz1rBtXWRtJdENlG4DA3QYFNHNu9NxNQ1s-t28lHBbw-pdANGKHCp8cQ2jWTQpXUANMzwYCesayUBPWRL7VC814GpW/s1600/IMG_2975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TEnVhxtjRqpvQ5ZI1npyldexGwOoYJwCxAg9SKJSMMUz1rBtXWRtJdENlG4DA3QYFNHNu9NxNQ1s-t28lHBbw-pdANGKHCp8cQ2jWTQpXUANMzwYCesayUBPWRL7VC814GpW/s320/IMG_2975.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxphm0w5IdUPtHbHEv3695aMJuSK5bzNXKR-qvJhI_BI_xej2eipWl1TctJuJdfOaBsmbe9lTU5AexeJJwpN3sJGhWCXLqvZZ5A9O45WtCNxOH6Ws4d0Hdqag8weHlUHAEAC0/s1600/IMG_2974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxphm0w5IdUPtHbHEv3695aMJuSK5bzNXKR-qvJhI_BI_xej2eipWl1TctJuJdfOaBsmbe9lTU5AexeJJwpN3sJGhWCXLqvZZ5A9O45WtCNxOH6Ws4d0Hdqag8weHlUHAEAC0/s320/IMG_2974.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NY19Q57syZ3JKwzhyphenhyphenWEc8-y11B2D4WO2Srnb4g9W57kYqAOMEIYEb0Tb7Azt2FecHNTf9ke-SjBhwMW-FbvR5XZ6fPt_LZoKCnRk2TAPxievNGH-eTXmqJ5BV7gXih5euiFj/s1600/IMG_2976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NY19Q57syZ3JKwzhyphenhyphenWEc8-y11B2D4WO2Srnb4g9W57kYqAOMEIYEb0Tb7Azt2FecHNTf9ke-SjBhwMW-FbvR5XZ6fPt_LZoKCnRk2TAPxievNGH-eTXmqJ5BV7gXih5euiFj/s320/IMG_2976.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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We headed back to the dock and the sun was starting to set and was absolutely breathtaking!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic from my iPhone</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic from Cousin A's fancy-pants camera</td></tr>
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After dinner, Little G finally got to enjoy his ice cream sandwich.<br />
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The next morning, we headed back to the rental house to grab our bikes and headed home.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headed back over the GWB</td></tr>
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This year's trip was definitely challenging. I know it sounds so whiney to complain about the air conditioning at a beach house, but we don't have central AC in our own home, so we're very aware of how to manage in the heat. The issues were all related to the amount of time we spent NOT at the beach because we were waiting for various repair people to show up (or not show up) or show up and tell us that nothing could be done as well as the sleep lost by all of us with an angry, cranky hot baby in the mix.</div>
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All of that said, it was a lot of fun. I grew up down the shore and it will always be part of my blood and I am so glad to have a chance every year to give that experience to my kids as well.</div>
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For one week a year, they are no longer cousins, but best friends at the beach.</div>
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Here's my recaps from our trips in <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2010/08/my-jersey-shore.html" target="_blank">2010</a> and <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2011/08/jersey-shore.html" target="_blank">2011</a> </div>
Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-57815993448649938342012-10-17T13:05:00.001-04:002012-10-17T13:05:10.192-04:00Litte G's 3rd Birthday Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm going to have to ask you to step back in your mind for a moment and think back to the summer. The beginning of summer, no less. Because a certain little boy around here had a birthday and we celebrated and mommy took pictures...and then never posted about it. </div>
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So take a moment and remember what early Summer 2012 was like for you. The breezes were warm, the sun was hot. The humidity was starting to be a factor. The 4th of July had just been celebrated. Schools were out, camps were in session. The promise of a stretch of vacation still lay ahead for most of us...</div>
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...ok...in the mood?</div>
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Little G turned 3 on July 8, but we couldn't hold a party for him until the following weekend because there were two other parties the weekend of his actual birthday! That's right...nothing like explaining to a three year old that the birthday party he is at ON his birthday isn't actually for him. But I digress.</div>
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On the day of his party, we decorated the door of his room for him to discover as he woke up.</div>
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Since it was summer and there would potentially be a lot of kids, I wanted to keep things simple. No coordinating drink straws with cake pops, here. Just a huge kiddie-pool of bubbles with fly swatter wands and a hula-hoop that made super big bubbles!</div>
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A small spread that I completely owe all credit to my friend, "Laura", who came over early (as in the night before) to help me figure out what to feed the masses...since I may or may not have totally dropped the ball on planning this). We got a watermelon and cut it with a train cookie cotter to up the fun factor. She had some extra fruit salad that we upped the ante with by adding more berries. Potato and macaroni salads, the world's most awesome baked beans (made by Laura's husband) and hot dogs and hamburgers.</div>
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There were other outside activities besides the bubbles; like sidewalk chalk, and the slide and mini-trampoline and a sprinkler...but the most awesome activity of all was the decorate your own train car cake that I dreamed up a few nights before the party. Basically, I went to iParty and got a bunch of decorations (sprinkles, icing in a can, candies, etc.) and then made individual train car cakes (easily done with my Wilton train pan) and then packaged them all up in individual boxes with wax paper liners.</div>
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The kids had a blast getting to go wild with icing and sprinkles! </div>
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We also had a "real" birthday cake for Little G to blow out the candle, but since the kids were all into the train cakes, the adults got to eat the bigger cake.<br />
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Little G and his friend, "J", pretended our front porch was a train for most of the rest of the afternoon, boarding and exiting the train by the front steps. (and yes, those are Christmas lights out in July...we have bistro lights in one of our front trees and my husband likes the look of the lights on the porch, so there they are. In July.)</div>
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It was a great party, though. The goodie bags had engineer caps, stamps, inflatable mini-beach balls, silly-straws, mini-airplane kits and small, wooden train whistles and came in a fun beach bag.</div>
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Eventually, most of his little friends went home but there were still Aunts and Uncles...<br />
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...and really great friends...<br />
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...to keep celebrating with.</div>
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Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-77377302303721203482012-10-02T08:30:00.000-04:002012-10-02T09:29:55.413-04:00And a Boot...<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Remember <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/06/rhododendron-bush-should-recover-nicely.html" target="_blank">that time I fell into a Rhododendron bush and broke my ankle</a>? Yeah. I had forgotten too.</div>
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No worries...I didn't do it again. I just happened upon this series of pictures I took during my two weeks of hobbling and figured I'd post them here <strike>for your entertainment</strike> so you can marvel at how instagram really does make everything seem better:</div>
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Day 1 - moments after being assigned the boot...</div>
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Not to be discouraged - I shed the boot to dip my toes in the pool during a wedding weekend in Cape Cod. It was not a well thought out plan, even movement from the water hurt.</div>
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Ever the optimist, I start posting pics to my <a href="http://followgram.me/coastinganon" target="_blank">Instagram</a> account with the tag: #andaboot. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast #andaboot</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae4xqy_2LfJRZZ3X8j7iutEFr_1nJYirzXNQL5A2Yr2nX5W-KBYthBlzLx5TXpDjowKC0UjCXyTxLJ-LbPi3lWQRApy_wUZ1EFk9jDoeta8sjiPq84os21qjEF78e36yJqCRW/s1600/IMG_2574.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae4xqy_2LfJRZZ3X8j7iutEFr_1nJYirzXNQL5A2Yr2nX5W-KBYthBlzLx5TXpDjowKC0UjCXyTxLJ-LbPi3lWQRApy_wUZ1EFk9jDoeta8sjiPq84os21qjEF78e36yJqCRW/s320/IMG_2574.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnQdJaJHayv3BBgaLVhjP4l42fJ5laEubEDcq2d6LMHOe5-SG7u31BunKCyk4YE0TeN2wOA9xecfiOHY3n-EfFwnkFVjI30ESk7pmDoLzMIT3G20R1xHWvzc-A6D4yyxgO3NK/s1600/IMG_2575.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnQdJaJHayv3BBgaLVhjP4l42fJ5laEubEDcq2d6LMHOe5-SG7u31BunKCyk4YE0TeN2wOA9xecfiOHY3n-EfFwnkFVjI30ESk7pmDoLzMIT3G20R1xHWvzc-A6D4yyxgO3NK/s320/IMG_2575.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Errand #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjz5yL951ezw8EUMkGwQi1nucoL36nIPkUOqDixiHSzuY9m-l8XXywBWTXeGm63E04L8SrWiwvW7eyVhWfH9ftx1aCk5q3rS0L2EZd4xVzK-DaC5udt_8yCQxiCstPtBfVY4m/s1600/IMG_2576.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjz5yL951ezw8EUMkGwQi1nucoL36nIPkUOqDixiHSzuY9m-l8XXywBWTXeGm63E04L8SrWiwvW7eyVhWfH9ftx1aCk5q3rS0L2EZd4xVzK-DaC5udt_8yCQxiCstPtBfVY4m/s320/IMG_2576.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1I0Hn6ejNPrhQOWti8Sm0ieMAD8ZFacFD01vdZmQ7_-3A_V7ayPyKlybspFsdwJ5XbAhPVVchg9AUywoSViFJyfX7eY2CvVn_F8UKz85j9bsi-c6r6fkN5sxbrdGbc0r-uSDz/s1600/IMG_2577.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1I0Hn6ejNPrhQOWti8Sm0ieMAD8ZFacFD01vdZmQ7_-3A_V7ayPyKlybspFsdwJ5XbAhPVVchg9AUywoSViFJyfX7eY2CvVn_F8UKz85j9bsi-c6r6fkN5sxbrdGbc0r-uSDz/s320/IMG_2577.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitty #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RaaU2_sl3FqMfQ6SxE9W2rW-SEH8x0xuDgD4wbVYBfA0pE0ygpe1Q3bVbG1SvDhrQoet2FnNJDRGOPZARvhEYEsCU0jXa5DOtYg9RSXQo1XPdvcvd7ypeJ2rkthE90YHxt26/s1600/IMG_2578.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RaaU2_sl3FqMfQ6SxE9W2rW-SEH8x0xuDgD4wbVYBfA0pE0ygpe1Q3bVbG1SvDhrQoet2FnNJDRGOPZARvhEYEsCU0jXa5DOtYg9RSXQo1XPdvcvd7ypeJ2rkthE90YHxt26/s320/IMG_2578.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bed #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhf0rc4ddD10myV0szXd0uNkBKAiCWeEkrfgNKViiCj3d0OqhZyFFq4KQwTui9pY8maXcF44_69Jd6v6PvdX6MLiI467GOTgD8aZOSrCQomdaVN166oUxIvaqLfRr7wP3ugvf/s1600/IMG_2579.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhf0rc4ddD10myV0szXd0uNkBKAiCWeEkrfgNKViiCj3d0OqhZyFFq4KQwTui9pY8maXcF44_69Jd6v6PvdX6MLiI467GOTgD8aZOSrCQomdaVN166oUxIvaqLfRr7wP3ugvf/s320/IMG_2579.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YoGabbaGabba #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZ5H2gXd-FtdHIgLGaql4NadtD8lwhMFcVFPk1sWeqN37eitHSHA2pCwtEmxHzuxDpzApaRV7NxxasXvutxEFXp4PokwVdPZOgnmL6mpVNBs4rBcexnVM1brHbEtOywz4LjNh/s1600/IMG_2581.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZ5H2gXd-FtdHIgLGaql4NadtD8lwhMFcVFPk1sWeqN37eitHSHA2pCwtEmxHzuxDpzApaRV7NxxasXvutxEFXp4PokwVdPZOgnmL6mpVNBs4rBcexnVM1brHbEtOywz4LjNh/s320/IMG_2581.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haircut #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJrjOZK4PdjNtaRWXH4anqrytsCgMd5ENTKhwu-igy-hDl1ux6XRAFsLdaIRUnkma-6zKzLQxTpBlEp_LzKWZ_aR2Uc5U53_SfOgiAPKT9rrz30l6XBbIbumbLzIk38rR9DkE/s1600/IMG_2582.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJrjOZK4PdjNtaRWXH4anqrytsCgMd5ENTKhwu-igy-hDl1ux6XRAFsLdaIRUnkma-6zKzLQxTpBlEp_LzKWZ_aR2Uc5U53_SfOgiAPKT9rrz30l6XBbIbumbLzIk38rR9DkE/s320/IMG_2582.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coloring #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLed8q-dUPppG_81UOOUEXDzVQ76VrlmuZEM-EnsG0DZLsOT-SbBSjYj9KShlNOPVfEbHz-sjKt3ZWmHCLrUTaH8T9AAQb2KNMglEC0LkhOeI9gh5DyNhvJLrAvWUfUV6zHP6J/s1600/IMG_2584.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLed8q-dUPppG_81UOOUEXDzVQ76VrlmuZEM-EnsG0DZLsOT-SbBSjYj9KShlNOPVfEbHz-sjKt3ZWmHCLrUTaH8T9AAQb2KNMglEC0LkhOeI9gh5DyNhvJLrAvWUfUV6zHP6J/s320/IMG_2584.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lap #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HrL0FCt1dzLblzbCR2y6gn1oipjwHY1oPTnpVUvHpYOaJ__VPttV-8Dd94D6NynwrDXwBjpAdSdT2wT-MKSlmoAai4e-ZPiCONXdOFa3_3cgVffrxPZ8sYteGWJ9YZ9Si_5n/s1600/IMG_2585.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HrL0FCt1dzLblzbCR2y6gn1oipjwHY1oPTnpVUvHpYOaJ__VPttV-8Dd94D6NynwrDXwBjpAdSdT2wT-MKSlmoAai4e-ZPiCONXdOFa3_3cgVffrxPZ8sYteGWJ9YZ9Si_5n/s320/IMG_2585.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Babywearing #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDAaoND4BaSkCLHmDSpbCC3BdanGFdD5Jhmo9aKKRnTfGii9-yZ4aL87s-DJrjpthdUFyfIplHTJ8Qeuxf3nC2GmHzMOCtAHnMLPbi1xyfZ7-e6X9XgZvHaKLzQHlBmDsWaHKA/s1600/IMG_2586.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDAaoND4BaSkCLHmDSpbCC3BdanGFdD5Jhmo9aKKRnTfGii9-yZ4aL87s-DJrjpthdUFyfIplHTJ8Qeuxf3nC2GmHzMOCtAHnMLPbi1xyfZ7-e6X9XgZvHaKLzQHlBmDsWaHKA/s320/IMG_2586.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kale #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjErs53M8T_nxQGYtSTtWTKncdgo8mBTMFiZmSJPIJZKC5VnGe-nqzQVk_98qRxWS70PAYkHKdbeEIwbVTYNdp2LQFfAcykMSqfGVQ4aaktU3EnrI7EAc3KdGCW5UoBJ5xpewXZ/s1600/IMG_2587.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjErs53M8T_nxQGYtSTtWTKncdgo8mBTMFiZmSJPIJZKC5VnGe-nqzQVk_98qRxWS70PAYkHKdbeEIwbVTYNdp2LQFfAcykMSqfGVQ4aaktU3EnrI7EAc3KdGCW5UoBJ5xpewXZ/s320/IMG_2587.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Story #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGoqJ6PGFr32u0W0kwtudpC0D6Lg0jE_ddMI4PzJ_O5OH86Wr2pPP-dt0NXYvSjJJuHS2G2y-O-EZTf1OlBXsoTcWCNxFo4zB9Baa30iVPGU4xdNyVthnawRV08camRkG0mB_/s1600/IMG_2589.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGoqJ6PGFr32u0W0kwtudpC0D6Lg0jE_ddMI4PzJ_O5OH86Wr2pPP-dt0NXYvSjJJuHS2G2y-O-EZTf1OlBXsoTcWCNxFo4zB9Baa30iVPGU4xdNyVthnawRV08camRkG0mB_/s320/IMG_2589.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pancakes #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaajSOY9NzZuBfYxcsRj8_q3n7cWjRVYs60U7YwWOzlN1vYQ1sILzworAuDwhqOJeHftE2DASPhRjDnGmJnauuVaURkEzRs5KjSxJTg2Rs3ECC8Z3rP-Zty-YD8AL6SYXcksN/s1600/IMG_2590.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaajSOY9NzZuBfYxcsRj8_q3n7cWjRVYs60U7YwWOzlN1vYQ1sILzworAuDwhqOJeHftE2DASPhRjDnGmJnauuVaURkEzRs5KjSxJTg2Rs3ECC8Z3rP-Zty-YD8AL6SYXcksN/s320/IMG_2590.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Library #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgs_EVLFnRyX00M7hGjH1BZd8kg31lHJzldRguF-DTBjN8nVc7ndDW1NVvjifBRsyTO2xd_OR_dBCQb6HjLTrn42ae5vANo7e8z6JBvMkpXkHXPYJ-mMd6fNhNyVaAXMhq10aP/s1600/IMG_2591.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgs_EVLFnRyX00M7hGjH1BZd8kg31lHJzldRguF-DTBjN8nVc7ndDW1NVvjifBRsyTO2xd_OR_dBCQb6HjLTrn42ae5vANo7e8z6JBvMkpXkHXPYJ-mMd6fNhNyVaAXMhq10aP/s320/IMG_2591.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leftovers #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7E1wpBwONhs6mGJ3flhsQoHY8V4hXi0i0CGUQmx43JsL0VEYz40mccdhyOYyOUe3IEsEWdjRqXg3wKnvYBhR1VNnX2VnvAVn_a7A4I-ShG8CE_flw7rNzAghAwYOFK1mPWGR/s1600/IMG_2592.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7E1wpBwONhs6mGJ3flhsQoHY8V4hXi0i0CGUQmx43JsL0VEYz40mccdhyOYyOUe3IEsEWdjRqXg3wKnvYBhR1VNnX2VnvAVn_a7A4I-ShG8CE_flw7rNzAghAwYOFK1mPWGR/s320/IMG_2592.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pear #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBjf7sxLSVTCCbvLf3epcQ7QfOjYMbHdiOArXVPU6r9xMJ-Dm_Ts664nYmwRx0zAHG1f3DmvRlD_ND0NGMTpZGEnblHj2UG4oJiKghID-0DagYYa8XaWuD9fDMLz-lccf14Ww/s1600/8b756c2cc37411e1aee522000a1e8a5f_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBjf7sxLSVTCCbvLf3epcQ7QfOjYMbHdiOArXVPU6r9xMJ-Dm_Ts664nYmwRx0zAHG1f3DmvRlD_ND0NGMTpZGEnblHj2UG4oJiKghID-0DagYYa8XaWuD9fDMLz-lccf14Ww/s320/8b756c2cc37411e1aee522000a1e8a5f_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Play #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8S4JXo_rVyoBl57Xw0YiQ0Th84P6mCcS3Cy43qqyUbX9_9RtEkGx_8Dydh9KHyFcGZlaa9e_p6W-ibp-2BVVN0z_6LFcwYdv8R-HW8IgLT_wvzhKLcwRx8wMJcV9uI-ZFn3Zw/s1600/IMG_2609.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8S4JXo_rVyoBl57Xw0YiQ0Th84P6mCcS3Cy43qqyUbX9_9RtEkGx_8Dydh9KHyFcGZlaa9e_p6W-ibp-2BVVN0z_6LFcwYdv8R-HW8IgLT_wvzhKLcwRx8wMJcV9uI-ZFn3Zw/s320/IMG_2609.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">July #andaboot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenAOYaDYdUAsuE6kkd-0kLhTOD1Cad6GgkK8di2ydTNuAdRoYnifDwKk5bcZGdj9L9Ychv4I7qAGsZMFXcSO8tJFryM8suJMKJseqyKxyRNZB9V8GU_SSEqZKL4rB7xsVKce1/s1600/a1c76c72c3a711e1b10e123138105d6b_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenAOYaDYdUAsuE6kkd-0kLhTOD1Cad6GgkK8di2ydTNuAdRoYnifDwKk5bcZGdj9L9Ychv4I7qAGsZMFXcSO8tJFryM8suJMKJseqyKxyRNZB9V8GU_SSEqZKL4rB7xsVKce1/s320/a1c76c72c3a711e1b10e123138105d6b_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Splash! #andaboot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x1K3Bpxsjo0U-wiSt8vtzjtgJTV_oOAKb3-xGjTBptUMgp-L2ha-mQYgpU4OmeTSha03loexrXapag2KRq2z4nPUl1wnFc5vk_CZ7bosEF4EQGEaN43kOkkncdIa4nWi1tV3/s1600/IMG_2624.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x1K3Bpxsjo0U-wiSt8vtzjtgJTV_oOAKb3-xGjTBptUMgp-L2ha-mQYgpU4OmeTSha03loexrXapag2KRq2z4nPUl1wnFc5vk_CZ7bosEF4EQGEaN43kOkkncdIa4nWi1tV3/s320/IMG_2624.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asleep #andaboot<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlaHmxWsjLxj38ufsRtRlFXTIeW1R7UvDeRuZ0AiiZvs0055iVbQlrTsTzyyLx62j9BZfhtbHgWGeqUsT8P9jgTY6cwiGVtqqTuSXVyVpp48rGppzYNOxpZM_efvnnRrVi-jkt/s1600/2e268f38c55e11e19b0622000a1e8a4f_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlaHmxWsjLxj38ufsRtRlFXTIeW1R7UvDeRuZ0AiiZvs0055iVbQlrTsTzyyLx62j9BZfhtbHgWGeqUsT8P9jgTY6cwiGVtqqTuSXVyVpp48rGppzYNOxpZM_efvnnRrVi-jkt/s320/2e268f38c55e11e19b0622000a1e8a4f_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtyard #andaboot</td></tr>
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This next one was taken in a parking lot near our house where you could see the view of the Boston fireworks display. I had our shower radio with us so we could hear the broadcast of the Pops concert.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYOeRFwAlW4UFkLydguPXCCQ4nzLqRlE2l0xC6N_pbiBv6yTXM8xi6JaLGFISGNjFgyoeo6HzHextWmfjE8qYVYpT4pEo257JN1vwhyWGOh_FECC32CdBAq0X2fdrZOdNyIDg/s1600/IMG_2646.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYOeRFwAlW4UFkLydguPXCCQ4nzLqRlE2l0xC6N_pbiBv6yTXM8xi6JaLGFISGNjFgyoeo6HzHextWmfjE8qYVYpT4pEo257JN1vwhyWGOh_FECC32CdBAq0X2fdrZOdNyIDg/s320/IMG_2646.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broadcast #andaboot</td></tr>
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The next morning, we said farewell to my mom who had come to help me take care of the kids while I was trapped in the boot<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMByY9iC7WKUCCABlMWeTkUZQ9Phsi11gk9KUImwKVT6L7OatkYwJbRxIe7gHJTvN8R-lt8pqc_YP1z5cHkChaZPubyLn5ZBOMt9jt5iS9WQUvnjkVlu8zAHIXH_FSlXL-JhMT/s1600/IMG_2649.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMByY9iC7WKUCCABlMWeTkUZQ9Phsi11gk9KUImwKVT6L7OatkYwJbRxIe7gHJTvN8R-lt8pqc_YP1z5cHkChaZPubyLn5ZBOMt9jt5iS9WQUvnjkVlu8zAHIXH_FSlXL-JhMT/s320/IMG_2649.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye #andaboot</td></tr>
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I spent the weekend with my family getting out and about...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuH6HGrXsa4n3gP7CSNT_vz-nSx3hO92ZJS-SED5Cwqrcoio0VoqoHxDvgjMStVw2RgcOYv3JcwvqX0rOjsjCN7ZEv7MydTFwSy036a_drDD-2lvM8IAJ26mlnE-iHvUrdAgrE/s1600/IMG_2652.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuH6HGrXsa4n3gP7CSNT_vz-nSx3hO92ZJS-SED5Cwqrcoio0VoqoHxDvgjMStVw2RgcOYv3JcwvqX0rOjsjCN7ZEv7MydTFwSy036a_drDD-2lvM8IAJ26mlnE-iHvUrdAgrE/s320/IMG_2652.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playground #andaboot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQ2f-Fs03eCoPX5tw-qMOhZoWvEXZ8hVwvPuNEa-1ey15Z7_5mDXHrEclPHoz7KuQ8ZQAYEl8QA4x8OeQ_bDxqyZyy2yGF5D0g2fS6gEqgRGkLG2Vxv4md9L_ntG0zwytdAVz/s1600/IMG_2661.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQ2f-Fs03eCoPX5tw-qMOhZoWvEXZ8hVwvPuNEa-1ey15Z7_5mDXHrEclPHoz7KuQ8ZQAYEl8QA4x8OeQ_bDxqyZyy2yGF5D0g2fS6gEqgRGkLG2Vxv4md9L_ntG0zwytdAVz/s320/IMG_2661.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bus #andaboot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBweuiN3czLTqCOsz4HouGmKmD5nV84KvXGq5CgOJz0sbvVQ2eUaA4mgVJ2jwkv6SdXvc8EnZ0I888xR4i_b3n9dCO4S96HSl2-IMHJBWpkLM6mX8BPc81Xu2H_wpsDigojq8J/s1600/IMG_2662.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBweuiN3czLTqCOsz4HouGmKmD5nV84KvXGq5CgOJz0sbvVQ2eUaA4mgVJ2jwkv6SdXvc8EnZ0I888xR4i_b3n9dCO4S96HSl2-IMHJBWpkLM6mX8BPc81Xu2H_wpsDigojq8J/s320/IMG_2662.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books #andaboot</td></tr>
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And then finally...I had the clearance to switch to a brace!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6lP9IrmzaVp4DBydeI2Lur1NjAzkQ5FonN-wcgGnAu6M55ujeXNJXE3zDFeZWCoqN9qkShYoJVwrU-t3twquz6s_Ww3jo042FgAOkOteojeD0HpLNhpwen4v_rHLzzBunx50/s1600/b52bc1e4cb8d11e1a23c22000a1c9e05_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6lP9IrmzaVp4DBydeI2Lur1NjAzkQ5FonN-wcgGnAu6M55ujeXNJXE3zDFeZWCoqN9qkShYoJVwrU-t3twquz6s_Ww3jo042FgAOkOteojeD0HpLNhpwen4v_rHLzzBunx50/s320/b52bc1e4cb8d11e1a23c22000a1c9e05_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting #andabrace</td></tr>
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Have you ever done a photo series? Have you ever become close personal friends with a rhododendron bush?<br />
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BONUS: can you find the two inconsistencies in the pictures?<br />
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Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-21214295646262896952012-09-24T08:34:00.000-04:002012-09-24T08:34:00.593-04:00Rolling alongFor the first time in his life, I want to stop time.<br />
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Summer has been over for three weeks. I know this because three weeks ago, Little G started pre-school. When Little G was born, it felt like I grabbed onto a moving roller coaster and only recently has it felt like I have gotten my bearings. And now the whole thing just started off again. I can not completely describe it, but even just looking at pictures from three weeks ago...just three weeks...seems like I'm looking at a different kid. <br />
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The end of our summer was epic. Summer itself was epic - Little G had 'camp' for five weeks and then we were away for our yearly pilgrimage to the Jersey Shore and then he had two more weeks of camp and another week of 'welcome to your new school' camp. And then, after a summer of scheduled fun, we had two weeks off. Two whole weeks of just me, Little G and his baby sister. <br />
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I was petrified.<br />
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I ended up making a basic plan for each day where we lounged and had breakfast then headed out to explore the city, or go to a beach, or just ride the rails, and then we came home and I tucked two kids into their beds, exhausted, for a nap. I had a babysitter come for the afternoons during those two weeks. She had the easiest job ever as both my kids were usually asleep the whole time and I spent the afternoons trying to fit in various appointments...physical therapy for my ankle, dentist appointments, therapist appointments, etc. We deviated from the plan on some days, but for the most part, that's what we did. And it was awesome.<br />
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And now it is September. And not just September, but three weeks into September. For the first time since having Little G, September MEANT something. Preschool isn't just a change in his life, it is a change in ours. He goes five days a week for six hours a day. This was a major shift for us. So yeah, for the first time, when September rolled around and life had a major, noticeable, transition I found myself wanting to stop time. Wanting to hold onto Summer, as long as I could -- because this roller coaster didn't even slow down and too quickly I am looking back into the distance trying to hold on to everything that was awesome knowing that the next time summer rolls around, he'll be four.<br />
<br />Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-54455217324522924552012-09-11T11:11:00.000-04:002012-09-11T11:16:19.522-04:00Open House at Little G's New School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Exactly a year ago it dawned on us that we needed to start looking for pre-schools for Little G for the following Fall. He was, at the time, attending a home daycare program two days a week and getting ready to transition into a full time slot in the month prior to his baby sister's arrival. Though some children chose to stay in the daycare program (which had a curriculum) until entering the Boston Public School (BPS) system, we wanted more of a traditional pre-school environment for him.</div>
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Thus started the two month long pre-school vetting program for our household that just happened to coincide with the final days of my pregnancy. We considered dozens of programs during the month of September and eventually settled on no less than seven schools that we wanted to look at more closely during the month of October, when most schools scheduled their informational visits. First on our list of schools that we were interested in (but due to scheduling craziness, last on the list of schools to actually visit) was a Montessori school that I threw in the mix because I liked the idea of the program and I was intrigued that this particular school went through 8th grade.</div>
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We had already picked our top three programs when our visit date came up for this particular Montessori school (we had already visited one Montessori program and decided it wasn't for us). We had absolutely no doubt that Little G would thrive in any preschool environment, so truth be told, we went to this final appointment because it had been on our list the longest...but we really thought we knew where we wanted him to go.</div>
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And then we visited the school. The Children's House program for 3, 4, and 5 year olds was clearly amazing, but again, as we said, we could see Little G doing well anywhere. But it was the upper school that we found incredibly inspiring. The children in 7th and 8th grade were running their own businesses! The first graders were writing journals on what they were interested in learning. The music room and art room....Holy Lord they reminded me of my own privileged* grammar school education - the programs seemed so rich and the materials and instruments so thoughtful (*one of the perks of living in a tony town is the amount of tax money earmarked for the school system; I'm one of the only people I know of all my friends who not only had art and music but home-ec and shop...every year through 8th grade) </div>
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We knew on the spot that this was the school we wanted our children to attend.</div>
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Fast forward through having a baby, applying to the school, getting accepted and enrolling to this past Tuesday when Little G attended the Open House for the Children's House program. It was a 45 minute opportunity to bring in our supplies (nap materials, indoor shoes, mug, etc) as well as meet the teacher, see the classroom, <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/09/i-pronounce-you-mother-of-year.html" target="_blank">pick up our bag and car tag</a> (for the rolling pick-up process) and meet some new friends.</div>
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Little G was really excited...he actually got to attend a "Welcome to Our School" week during their summer camp series, so he was used to the building and all. I actually snapped this shot on our way out, but put it here to show the level of excitement he had:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPF2jRNFZ-Z6XqvxGgJvpo7o39EvY_Go8aBKqdAWqs4qZ_2gYcO_nloA8VDSwlG-5yGxrNP4JFeSC1Vq8pbJ-jDofuWoSs-K9bGe1pwuMjsS2AnH9a0y0cIzedwOkj5zAVpG2w/s1600/DSC_0030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPF2jRNFZ-Z6XqvxGgJvpo7o39EvY_Go8aBKqdAWqs4qZ_2gYcO_nloA8VDSwlG-5yGxrNP4JFeSC1Vq8pbJ-jDofuWoSs-K9bGe1pwuMjsS2AnH9a0y0cIzedwOkj5zAVpG2w/s400/DSC_0030.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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All of the materials...and I mean ALL of them...were out for the children to explore. I'm not going to lie...I just kept praying that Little G would keep it together and not dump everything off the shelves in one fell swoop! Word on the street is they don't actually start the year with EVERYTHING out...it makes its way back into the classroom over the course of the year.</div>
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There was a minor incident with beads...but nothing too hard to handle:</div>
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Little G loved this fractions board...see...already a scholar!<br />
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The room has a giant loom and they plan to do some weaving this year:<br />
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Just prior to getting in the car to come to the open house, Little G grabbed a snail shell from our garden and put it in his pocket. While we were at the school, he spotted a large, snail-shaped sea shell and exclaimed it was just like 'his' shell...then he ran over to the teacher across the room to show her:</div>
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He came back soon enough and found a tray with some farm pieces on it and started to lay them all out on a mat that he grabbed from a nearby basket:</div>
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Then it was on to some more scoop-able things/parents'-worst-nightmare:<br />
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The room had these fun closure boxes:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjf1CoIM3G-2-EELtOY3Ay2eDAen3Royn606iMvkfAamIa3hy25eLDGnz4eXu13Xlt_aD-gmj8cEbe1hDJGopnqko1EL0rISLrzwgwGu33rQAZmtSU_njZsVv1UcaejwGQFaH/s1600/DSC_0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjf1CoIM3G-2-EELtOY3Ay2eDAen3Royn606iMvkfAamIa3hy25eLDGnz4eXu13Xlt_aD-gmj8cEbe1hDJGopnqko1EL0rISLrzwgwGu33rQAZmtSU_njZsVv1UcaejwGQFaH/s400/DSC_0019.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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As well as a cleaning station:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFEfPMTBnge2gd_5JYIDu9ItvHD3umq3FJrb5DCVbk5lQgvufWntLPZCFz7Z6UGQo7vgxxx1888usuMNKX4VglnJaBoX1s2XvwkL8O6hkTx2_5P6CHNRM1mq29tMM7TyvcR_d/s1600/DSC_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFEfPMTBnge2gd_5JYIDu9ItvHD3umq3FJrb5DCVbk5lQgvufWntLPZCFz7Z6UGQo7vgxxx1888usuMNKX4VglnJaBoX1s2XvwkL8O6hkTx2_5P6CHNRM1mq29tMM7TyvcR_d/s400/DSC_0020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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A snack area:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EcubnHrlngY290b_BACcpMM6Z_onOta9FxREaEnAgJcRK7A4qQyYX5HUWKXB2JjKZCJ4Prh4FTK09dqKLhEyp7797zE4xPoAglwmX0L2lczpvlQlEM_t4Hdr_yfjdti5l0De/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EcubnHrlngY290b_BACcpMM6Z_onOta9FxREaEnAgJcRK7A4qQyYX5HUWKXB2JjKZCJ4Prh4FTK09dqKLhEyp7797zE4xPoAglwmX0L2lczpvlQlEM_t4Hdr_yfjdti5l0De/s400/DSC_0021.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Materials for cleaning up:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0uLuu2q7_pcT-l-XMujrLrfjjfg_glp4jWFyPonrJyx04yOlQ7uG2oxntVh79dAb6IcnDDH7SUAfAxN4mohhnfvzOYW87QE4vbGWrbtQmyFxU9-BdjL7nhkmsD_ZU1fBFv1t/s1600/DSC_0022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0uLuu2q7_pcT-l-XMujrLrfjjfg_glp4jWFyPonrJyx04yOlQ7uG2oxntVh79dAb6IcnDDH7SUAfAxN4mohhnfvzOYW87QE4vbGWrbtQmyFxU9-BdjL7nhkmsD_ZU1fBFv1t/s400/DSC_0022.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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Here's a broader perspective of the whole room...so many materials!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YOHwhGuTyW9ipNJ2Ab_badQLPcSQuigPknbOWKYLuzLinmHaa-2xCmiGx4jOH8E4V16uCa-ntf-2NefcK5kluBHOhdGobH9udVYYW2mCM0rTkGNWFpJlsZrQNjyRxc_nL4nM/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YOHwhGuTyW9ipNJ2Ab_badQLPcSQuigPknbOWKYLuzLinmHaa-2xCmiGx4jOH8E4V16uCa-ntf-2NefcK5kluBHOhdGobH9udVYYW2mCM0rTkGNWFpJlsZrQNjyRxc_nL4nM/s400/DSC_0023.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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A washing station:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPv_cv28fpg4Xw9THM-ImPGrarIVpOl9WYlCYtWQ8AXfMp1gGrbv-WeIFOWVllQdtayGg2wiRIi-jB7GjPdsjxmlM4G-UBVOg8EFSoyiV487pJaGy2udu2coLWneWOse8aAF0/s1600/DSC_0025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPv_cv28fpg4Xw9THM-ImPGrarIVpOl9WYlCYtWQ8AXfMp1gGrbv-WeIFOWVllQdtayGg2wiRIi-jB7GjPdsjxmlM4G-UBVOg8EFSoyiV487pJaGy2udu2coLWneWOse8aAF0/s400/DSC_0025.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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And an in-room bathroom that, as Little G says, "is just my size!!!"</div>
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Soon it was time to put on our shoes and head out again...but I know Little G felt so much more confident for the next day:<a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2012/09/first-days.html" target="_blank"> the first day of school</a>!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdPeRRG3YaEAb6YP0_FLlSz9ms81mSDfAk3hI7kCJQHiZ-7wlYQ_axr8ugxDBqHLpiZni6s0ZxZ-yUdu5DP7T0fIZeOwntAuG-aioEku2aIpd8f9ZKDHlYJlsW4y5Bm6pHI3B/s1600/DSC_0026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdPeRRG3YaEAb6YP0_FLlSz9ms81mSDfAk3hI7kCJQHiZ-7wlYQ_axr8ugxDBqHLpiZni6s0ZxZ-yUdu5DP7T0fIZeOwntAuG-aioEku2aIpd8f9ZKDHlYJlsW4y5Bm6pHI3B/s400/DSC_0026.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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Before heading home, we started what I hope will be a yearly first-and-last-day-of-school tradition:<br />
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ICE CREAM!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTLJ3gkB1XO9GWtQiYbNSY0MljU-dqX6iHxaj88aXNP1BbAWyAKDXSiQ46K_1v4xfmxtVOQGa4n9OoZOSU_r9AipyqzCdfN8YauvqKqwguFIohjKYWIP6vd1Q9YF7jtr7tuVk/s1600/IMG_3623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTLJ3gkB1XO9GWtQiYbNSY0MljU-dqX6iHxaj88aXNP1BbAWyAKDXSiQ46K_1v4xfmxtVOQGa4n9OoZOSU_r9AipyqzCdfN8YauvqKqwguFIohjKYWIP6vd1Q9YF7jtr7tuVk/s400/IMG_3623.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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Do you have any experience with the Montessori philosophy?Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-7002413018469302702012-09-10T08:36:00.000-04:002012-09-10T09:30:34.920-04:00Like clockwork<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is the clock that sits on my bedside table:</div>
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<a href="http://distilleryimage9.s3.amazonaws.com/55c05fb48e8c11e1989612313815112c_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://distilleryimage9.s3.amazonaws.com/55c05fb48e8c11e1989612313815112c_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last week, Little G was snuggling with me in bed before we had to get up for the day (he finally, after a YEAR of sleeping in his big boy bed in his big boy bedroom will get up in the morning and leave his bedroom all by himself instead of calling for us to get him). Snuggling, of course, is actually defined as rolling all over me in bed with elbows and feet flailing all over the place.</div>
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So it happened that while we were 'snuggling' my clock got knocked off the bedside table. I picked it up and though it didn't LOOK broken, it did seem to have something rather large knocked loose and clunking around in it.</div>
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Since then it has only told the correct time twice a day, in other words, it stopped working.</div>
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So tonight, as I was getting into bed, I decided to rid myself of the broken clock and hauled it over to our bedroom trashcan. As I was depositing the clock, my husband said, "Let me see that." I reminded him that it was broken and he asked me if he could open it up. I rolled my eyes and said I didn't think there was a way to get inside as I proceeded to try to wedge the back open.</div>
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He reached out his hand to me from bed and said, "may<i> I</i> look at it?" I sighed, begrudgingly, and handed him the clock and got into bed fully expecting him to realize how right I was about how you couldn't even get into the back of this clock to even SEE what was wrong, no less fix it.</div>
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Yeah, in less than 30 seconds he had unscrewed the two very obvious finger screws on the back panel, opened up the clock, replaced the AA battery that had been knocking about (clumsily) on the inside, closed the casing and reset the clock.</div>
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I've clearly given up and stepped of the technology train.</div>
Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-1023581013605835192012-09-06T09:29:00.002-04:002012-09-09T22:52:38.841-04:00I pronounce you: mother-of-the-year...<br />
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...and YOU mother-of-the-year and YOU mother-of-the year and you and you and YOU!!<br />
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To all you new-to-pre-school mamas who are in the throes of 1st-day-at-school activites...I just want to take a moment to send a quick note of encouragement that as long as you all made it out the door today, you did an awesome job! And even if you didn't you STILL did an awesome job!<br />
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Today is our second day of taking Little G to school and then dropping off the Ladybug with our nanny at the neighbors' house. Two days ago, we visited Little G's school for open house and got our name tags (they wear them for the first week) and the tag for our car (to identify us at pick-up) and our school bag (everyone has the same one) and we dropped off Little G's indoor shoes and blanket and sheet and pillow all with the appropriate name tags neatly applied to tags. <br />
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So yesterday morning when I pulled up to drop off Little G and the director of the whole school (whom I shall nickname: School Director Barney) got Little G out of the car, I was able to say that all of his things were already inside with their name tags on and I won't like, I felt a little bit smug about the whole thing. So of course, as what always happens when I'm feeling smug, I end up falling flat on my face. Case in point: yesterday was a half day and I thought it ended at noon but it ended at 11:30 so there I was, on Little G's first day of the school where he will be for the next 10 years, picking him up late by a half an hour!! So much for smug.<br />
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Then, this morning, I once again got us all packed up and out of the house (I have to pack all of the Ladybug's stuff too since we go straight to the nanny share) and got to the car and I realized that somehow, the name tags that I thought I had been so smart to keep in the car, had gone missing! (In my defense, I tossed them during a quickie clean-up-the-car tirade once I realized that every crumb and schrapnel of granola bar wrapper was now visible to anyone who got Little G in and out of the car) So I ran inside and made a new one (not a huge deal [for me since I had the supplies on hand], just a white stick-on name tag). Then I got all the way to school and realized that we hadn't grabbed Little G's bag on the way out the door! Blerg.<br />
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All of this to say that once again, School Director Barney was the one to get Little G out of the car and I said, "well, mother-of-the-year over here seems to have forgotten his bag today" and he didn't miss a beat. He smiled totally genuinely at me and said, "even mother's-of-the-year forget bags".<br />
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Which is totally true. <br />
<br />
So, to all you mamas out there who got out the door today, no matter what you did or didn't forget, as long as everyone got to school safely - I now pronounce* you: "mother-of-the-year", today and EVERY day!!<br />
<br />
*ok...I'm not actually sure I have the authority to make proclamations...but I can totally send out encouragement and maybe even deem things<br />
<br />
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Update: I've since sent Little G in with reusable ice cubes in an old baby bottle cooler to keep his yogurt cool in his lunch bag...only to realize too late they they're shaped like margarita glasses. <br />
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Yeah...I'm gaining quite the reputation there.Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-30728563160614402712012-09-05T10:44:00.001-04:002012-09-05T13:54:16.774-04:00First days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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After a fantastic summer and an amazing two weeks between the end of camps and school starting, we have begun some big transitions around here. Namely, Little G started school yesterday and today (yesterday was a 45 minute open house where I went in with him and we met his guide [teacher] and brought in our extra clothes and nap items, etc. and found our hook/cubby - today and tomorrow are half days and Friday is a full day).</div>
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The Ladybug is going through a big transition as well. We are participating in a nanny share with our good friends (who happen to be our neighbors) who's son (who I will nickname "Blue Eyes") is four months older than the Ladybug. While the nanny has spent some time in the afternoons with the Ladybug, yesterday was her first day spending 6 hours at our neighbor's house with the nanny and Blue Eyes.</div>
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Today was the first day we all had to get out of the house to go to school. My husband, bless his amazing heart, gets up and is out of our house by 6:18am so that he can be home by 6:00pm. This means that the morning routine has always been my responsibility (except on the weekends...oh the glorious weekends when I get to totally sleep in because my aforementioned awesome husband wakes up with our children and lets me sleep. Dear God, I love him!!)</div>
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Anyway, since this is only day 1 (or 2 depending on how you look at it) of transition for everyone, I braced myself for challenge. It wasn't too bad, but I thought you'd get a kick out of the email I sent to my husband detailing our morning (note: I don't normally send anything this detailed about our mornings, in fact by the time we actually get to communicate on a daily basis, other than me grunting at him from the bed as he sneaks off to work before the sun has risen, I've already forgotten the morning and moved on with my life):</div>
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Ladybug woke up just as you walked out the door, so 6:19ish? (I would know but Little G knocked over my clock yesterday at 6:37am and now it only tells the correct time twice a day)<br />
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Fed Ladybug and snuggled a bit in rocking chair.<br />
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Took Ladybug to our room and let her play while I got dressed.<br />
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Took Ladybug to her room to get her dressed and Little G got up and walked out of his room. It was approx 6:55.<br />
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Suggested to Little G that we go downstairs and have breakfast and then watch Mr Rogers to which he suggested we watch Mr Rogers and then have breakfast. Upon my not agreeing with that suggestion the wailing started. Then he semi-agreed with me but wanted to watch Cars. I suggest we watch Cars when he gets home from school instead of quiet time (stupid. stupid. stupid.) Of course, he agrees.<br />
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7:00, we are downstairs and I finally get him to agree that we will have breakfast first, then TV. I suggest I am making pancakes for Ladybug [<i>I make large batches of <a href="http://weelicious.com/2010/02/17/whole-wheat-oat-pancakes/" target="_blank">Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes</a> and freeze them so I can pull them out and microwave them quickly for breakfasts</i>], would he want one. He says "no". I suggest pancakes and/or a banana or yogurt or toast or cereal to which he replies, he wants oatmeal.<br />
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Start to make oatmeal at 7:05.<br />
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7:12, still making oatmeal, Little G is now insisting that we watch Cars after breakfast. <br />
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7:18 I have extra pancake for Little G (because I never expected him to refuse it) and 1/2 banana. I suggest he start eating that so when oatmeal is ready, he can eat that with enough time to watch Mr Rogers.<br />
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7:19 He has major fit because he wanted oatmeal<br />
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7:22 he FINALLY realizes I AM making him oatmeal<br />
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7:25 I realize oatmeal isn't going to be cool enough to eat until at least 7:45, Mr Rogers is a 30 minute program and we need to head out to the car at 8:05<br />
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7:29 I turn on TV and tell Little G we're doing something special today that we won't be doing tomorrow: we will turn on Mr Rogers and I will bring over his table and chair and he can eat his breakfast while he watches<br />
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7:32 (seriously, it takes 3 minutes to turn on TV and get to Amazon Prime option and start streaming) Little G finally starts watching Mr Rogers!!<br />
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7:35 I get Little G dressed while he watches Mr Rogers<br />
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7:40 I put food on his little table and remind him we have to eat our breakfast because when Mr Rogers is over we have to leave for school<br />
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I clean up the Ladybug (who's been eating a banana and a pancake all this time) and put her on the floor and pour my coffee<br />
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7:45 I redirect the Ladybug from living room since she's obsessed with pushing and pulling Little G's table away from him<br />
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8:01 Mr Rogers is over - Little G is not done eating and has made that very clear to me. I play it cool and suggest that he let me know when he's ready to put his rain boots on<br />
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8:05 We're heading out the door into torrential rain...I am very thankful for forgetting to move car out back.<br />
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8:07 Torrential rain has stopped for enough time for me to snap a first-day-of-school picture<br />
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8:08 We're on our way to school - the radio czar has declared no music allowed</div>
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At some point (stopped caring about time as long as I made it between 8:20 and 8:40) I drop off Little G at school. The director of the school comes out to meet us [<i>drop off is defined as "rolling" in that all I have to do is pull up the car and someone comes and gets Little G out of the car</i>] . I quickly realize just how dirty the back of the car is. Eep.<br />
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I leave school drop off and discover new, faster, less scary way home (i.e. no needing to have to wait in line while people try to turn left twice where people don't use their blinkers at two consecutive weird intersections)<br />
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8:28 - The Ladybug starts crying because she is exhausted - we are at least 10 minutes away from home.<br />
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8:35 - I call the nanny as the Ladybug stops crying. I leave message to see if it is ok to bring Ladybug straight over and put her down for nap - I mention I will call one of Blue Eyes's mommies to confirm if this is ok even though she requested that we not show up until 9 the first two weeks [<i>Blue Eyes is our neighbor's first child and has been home with his mommies for 14 months, so he's going to have a much harder transition to nanny than we are, thus we have agreed to let him be with the nanny exclusively for the first hour of the day</i>]<br />
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8:36 - I call our neighbor and leave message to see if it is ok with her<br />
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8:41 - I pull up in front of house and the nanny calls and says it is fine with her; I let her know that I haven't heard back from our neighbor, so I will take the Ladybug inside and nap her here and bring her over when she wakes up<br />
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8:45 - I feed the Ladybug 5 oz of milk and she falls asleep immediately - phone rings while I am feeding her and our neighbor leaves message<br />
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8:50 - I check message from our neighbor who says it is fine to bring over the Ladybug so I send her a text telling her I brought her here to our house<br />
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8:45 - 10:40 - the Ladybug is STILL SLEEPING!!! <br />
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So yeah...busy morning. And I have to turn around in less than an hour and go get Little G since today's only a 1/2 day!<br />
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I'm not sure I would have ever been able to wrap my mind around the logistics of getting out of the house in the morning with a preschooler and 10 month old back when Little G was just a baby. <br />
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Thankfully, like most endurance challenges, I've been working up to this for three years. Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19216419.post-82284253582077449592012-09-02T15:20:00.002-04:002012-09-05T11:10:58.172-04:00(K)onquering KALE!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Long time readers (ok...anyone who was with me last year) will remember that <a href="http://www.otherpiecesofme.com/2011/06/kale-kale-kale-y-kale-kale.html" target="_blank">Kale is the bane of my CSA existence</a>. So you will be surprised to hear that twice now I have VOLUNTARILY chosen kale as my extra-item-of-choice while at the market. </div>
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Say, whaaaa??</div>
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Turns out I created (and by created I mean people have probably been preparing it this way for years, I just finally caught on) a flipping delicious recipe for kale slaw that I figured I would share with you fine people should you too find yourself stuck with a bunch on hand. In fact, this recipe is SO good, that you might even seek out kale...I know...go figure.</div>
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Anyway, first you get some kale. Either voluntarily or by being bequeathed large amounts of it in your CSA box. Then take a very yellow picture of the kale to make it seem as unappetizing as possible:</div>
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Cut the kale off the stems and send them for a spin in the salad spinner:</div>
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Dry off the kale and chop it into fine slaw:</div>
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Take a handful of nuts of any kind (I used sliced almonds) and throw them in a small pan on medium high heat and swirl around with a silicone spatula until they JUUUUUST start to get fragrant and then take them off the heat. The heat of the pan will continue to toast them to perfection:<br />
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Grab your bacon from the freezer [side note: for YEARS (and yes, I feel shame about this) I did not cook bacon because I usually only needed a little bit and then the rest would go stank in my fridge. Just this past spring (I'm quick, you know) I realized I could roll up leftover, uncooked pieces individually in parchment paper and then only take out what I needed. GENIUS, I tell you]:<br />
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Cook two slices of bacon (Yes, there are four here. Yes, I fully admit to cooking up two extra slices to nosh on):</div>
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Let the bacon cool and chop up (2) slices:</div>
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Add bacon (just the 2 slices) back to the fat in the pan along with a large handful of raisins and cook on medium high for a minute until the raisins plump a bit [side note: if you DO make more than 2 slices of bacon, make sure to pour off the excess bacon fat...you only need the fat of 2 slices here]:</div>
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Add in your kale - it will be a HUGE mound but will cook down quickly:</div>
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Toss kale and bacon and raisins until kale has cooked down 1/2 way and looks tender:<br />
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Turn off heat and add in toasted nuts:<br />
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Julienne a medium sized, firm/tart apple and add that to the mix:</div>
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Make 3-2-1-1* vinaigrette by whisking together 3 TBS Olive Oil, 2 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 TBS mustard and 1tsp honey:</div>
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Pour vinaigrette over warm slaw and toss:</div>
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Serve it up warm or, even better, toss it in the fridge and let all of the flavors meld together and then eat it with every meal for the next two days:</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Delicious Kale Slaw</span></b><br />
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Ok, ok...so the last thing anyone ever wants is a 50 bazillion step process to make a simple slaw that includes things like "now go get the fill-in-the-blank-ingredient from the tree you planted last summer in preparation for this moment". I get it that this sounds like a lot of work. But the reality is there are really only a few steps: 1) Process your kale 2) toast some nuts 3) make some bacon 3a) eat some bacon 4) julienne an apple 5) make a vinaigrette 6) toss it all together. If you can wrap your mind around that, than you should be golden and this shouldn't overwhelm you at all.<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Bunch of Kale<br />
Handful of toasted nuts<br />
Medium apple - julienned<br />
Two slices of cooked bacon, crumbled or chopped<br />
Handful of raisins<br />
3-2-1-1-mustard vinaigrette*<br />
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Coasting Anonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298428840591759641noreply@blogger.com2