Something for the kid next door - and all the rest of you !

Happy St. Patricks Day - a few linky dinky doos for you, as I am taking the day of to "decompress" (i.e. drink whiskey and bake soda bread and party like a juvenile delinquent. And yes, as a matter of fact, I *DID* hire a babysitter for the occasion !

WARNING - first video NOT SAFE FOR WORK


And now some videos from Ireland. Not my videos, beause A. I was drunk pretty much the entire time I was there during the summer of 1991 (my one and only trip to Ireland) and B. it was looooong before digital cameras, and trying to record my time there would have involved more effort and time then I was willing to put out at the age of 15. So you'll have to look at other people's videos and pictures, and just *imagine* what I would have said and done.

So, for starters, my grandparents house is on the tiny island of Inishbofin, off the Dingle Peninsula, across the water from Galway.
Let's start with the scenery - this video is during the day, and shows not only the scenery, but the amazing narrow winding roads, and the dogs, sheep, cows and horses that wander the island. Oh, and the donkeys. Watch out for the donkeys. My grandfather bicycled these very roads looking for me at 2am - little did he know I was coming from the other direction, on the same narrow roads, in a yellow mini named Bertha, with a local boy named Ronan. Rather then being mad at me for staying out, he sat down at the bar and had a pint while they closed up. I loved my grampa, we are cut from the same crazy cloth.



It is a small island, and you get there by ferry:


And if I had digital pics of the time I spent there, 20 years ago, they would look like this:


Here is a video from my favorite pub there - Day's. A LOT of drink has gone down leaning against those wooden walls.....sadly, many of my nights looked something like this:


And here, some cultural videos - dancing. Many Irish girls learn to step dance or clog - I took lessons for a while and wish I had kept it up because it is SO COOL to perform, and to watch. This is not Riverdance, people. People just get up out of their seats during a drink, and GO FOR IT.







And music:


This one is actually recorded at Day's on Inishbofin....the first 20 seconds are of some goofball jumping off the pier, but after that it's a recording session:


And some more modern musical performances on Inishbofin:

New York State of Mind

So here I am, ensconced in a very fancy-looking Hilton in a suburb of NYC. Max is working on homework, Lucy is writing a story (naked) and I am checking email and doing my deep breathing as I anticipate a long day of retail therapy. We are going to the outlets, and then ice skating. I really want to take the kids into the city to see the tree at Rockefeller Center, I am just not sure if I can swing it......we'll have to see.


I had the great pleasure and joy of meeting Miss Hazel yesterday. Oh she is so little and sweet. So much littler then my own peanuts, and so sleepy and cute. She was rocking polka dot leg warmers courtesy of my brother, proud Uncle Ash. Honestly, I just wanted to eat her up. Photos do not do newborns justice - it's all about the small warm cuddly body, and the sweet smell and the soft skin and furry hair.


But just for you folks who cannot see her in person - here she is.

Rest Stops in Vermont are awesome.

I am at a rest stop somewhere south of Montpelier, and I am currently relaxing in the car enjoying free wi fi while my kids play in the snow.

I fucking love it here.

Last night we drove through a mini-snow squall and I turned on the brights so the kids could see the snow coming at the front of the car like in Star Wars. Then we found our way to a cabin in the woods, where Sami's cousin and her husband are raising two beautiful children, surrounded by trees and warmed by a woodstove. The house was so cozy and bright, the new baby so round and cuddly, and the little boy - just Lucy's age - so like my own in temperament and personality and energy....We stayed for a while, I cuddled the little dumpling, and the kids sat on the wide-planked wood floors that were about 200 years old, playing Memory and having long, drawn out pirate battles with swords and shields and gold and eye patches.... Then we headed back out in the snow - back to our antique-filled bed and breakfast. We called daddy before curling up and drifting off to sleep - snow gently falling outside.

Today we have learned how to make maple syrup - the real kind, not that Aunt Jemima corn syrup crap. And we went to a cool coffee shop to see an old friend from high school. And now we are on our way back to Massachusetts to visit the Eric Carle Museum (Eric Carle wrote the childrens books "The Very Hungry Caterpiller" and "Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See ?" among many others. His illustrations are breathtaking - a riot of colors, a kaleidoscope of patterns...I am so interested to learn about his process and inspirations - although as I look out on these rolling hills, and remember the incredible vibrancy of fall here in New England, I have a pretty good idea.....)

So today has been a rich full day already - with much more to come.

I had better go bring in the snow bunnies.....

Rolling with it

This vacation is spinning along at a dizzying clip - I am chastened, because all of my anticipation and planning has not managed to slow the time down, and I still have a long list of things to do.

Monday I took the kiddos to the Cider Mill, to story time, to Five Guys for burgers......nothing that would rock their world, but still really fun. Tuesday we went to visit my best friend from early high school (later in high school, my best friend was definitely the guy I would marry oh so briefly - but in the beginning, it was all about Beth). We hung out at her house, got the kids all pumped up on slabs of birthday cake, and then went to the Book Barn.

While still not an ideal spot to bring sugared children, the Book Barn is not what you might be imagining. In fact, it is really hard to explain. There is a barn-like building filled to the roof with books and sunshine, then then a series of smaller out-buildings also packed with books. And in the middle of all of the buildings large and small, and tables and tents and wagons filled with books, there are goats. And cats. And a playground. And a playhouse. It's insane.

So after spending a few hours there with Beth, we headed back to her house to see her parents, and say a tearful (on Lucy's part) goodbye. Oh, the devastation of leaving people you met not 5 minutes ago. So very sad.

I ran the kids home to mom's, and then turned right around and headed back out for another old dear friend's house. Turns out she married ANOTHER old dear friend (our gene pool in this area is very small). And they have just welcomed the most beautiful, delicate little flower of a baby - Liza Jane.

After a few quality hours of baby snuggling, I rushed back home to cuddle my own babies.

And in the middle of all of that excitement - Hazel arrived.
Hazel Juniper
7 pounds 4 ounces
December 2nd, 2008

I have a few photos on my phone, but nothing exciting to share until either my brother gets home to a computer, or I get my butt to NY. I want to give mommy, daddy and baby time to bond and get to know each other before I move in on them....so with every ounce of self control, I am holding off until Sunday. (sigh)

Bye Bye Daddy

Saturday, my husband got on a plane and flew back to Hawaii. He left me here with both kids, to wait for the looming arrival of my niece. He is having a lovely time, in the warm sunshine. Bastard.

After leaving Daddy at the airport, we had to sing several rounds of "Bestest in the Barn" to cheer ourselves up. Then Mommy needed some Dunkin Donuts. Then we drove to my mother's house, where I dropped off the kids and left straightaway for the packie (liquor store) and TJ Maxx, to further comfort myself.

Then we had pizza with my extended family, which was wonderful, and we went to lend our moral support to my cousin, who is 4 months pregnant and needed to buy larger bras. We come from a family that is, shall we say, well-endowed in that department. So the idea that they would get BIGGER is both alarming and expensive.

After looking at all sorts of interesting undergarments with my aunt - who kept asking why in God's Name anyone would need something like THAT, while holding up some crotchless panties or something - I went back to my parents and got the kids ready for bed - sort of. Then, I went to Mystic to kick off a bar-crawl of epic proportions.

We started at AZU. We moved to Daniel Packer. We made a quick stop at Voodoo, and ended up staying a while. Then we stopped into 41, which has a new name (Ancient Mariner ?) and after a quick drink, proceeded over to Johns - where we broke a glass and played someone else's game of pool. We left pretty quickly, because John's is not the sort of place that responds well to that sort of stuff - for good reason. It is where the serious drinkers hang out. Don't fuck around in there - they will cut you off and throw you out.

So, chastened, we headed back to DPI for last call. I think we stopped somewhere else too, but I honestly can't remember much. he menu went something like this:
Hot Buttered Rum
Jack and Coke
Patron
Jack and Coke
Water
Jack and Coke
naptime.

Jack was really hard on me. I came home and fell over while I was taking off my pants. I was drunk for most of the following day. Every time I tried to bend over (and mothers NEVER have to bend over hardly EVER - HAH !) I would fall face first onto the ground. Very interesting experience. I went back to bed at about 10am, and woke up at 1pm feeling like I might die. My mother took me on a restorative trip to TJ Maxx where I dropped $150 in 45 minutes. (Totally worth it, by the way. I'll go over the list item by item later - with photos. You have to see it to believe it.)

The rest of Sunday was spent in a drunken haze. I managed to keep it together, and avoid puking - which I am VERY proud of, by the way.

So, now you are almost caught up on my adventures, and to sweeten the pot, here is the latest. My sister in law is having contractions every 3 minutes, and is dilating, albeit slowly. So it may well be baby day around here in the very near future. I'll keep you posted.

Black Friday

Black Friday was not black at all ! I woke up of my own accord at 5am, threw on some clothes and drove to the nearest Dunkin Donuts (natch). Thus fueled, I asked the lovely lady behind the counter how to get to my first destination.....Ocean State Job Lot. After a bit of driving about, trying to follow some rather complicated directions that actually were not complicated at all, I found the great Job Lot. I came, I saw, I conquered. Then I headed to Kohls, which was conveniently located RIGHT NEXT DOOR. Now that was the true, crazy, early morning shopping experience I was looking for. I found some great things for the kids, got myself a pair of earrings, and hit the highway, looking for the mall. Which I found, like a beacon of glory off in the distance. I got a parking space in the front row. I found Sami a ********** on clearance. I used coupons, I got free gift wrapping, I was home by 10am. It was such a thing of beauty - so perfectly orchestrated and successful - that I almost didn't know what to do with myself.

The rest of the day was spent with Sharon, the woman who introduced me to my husband, welcomed me into her family, and is always the hostess with the mostest. Sami took the kids bowling, and I was footloose and fancy free. As soon as I walked in the door - and we were on our way to her family's house for a huge post-holiday meal - she asked if I wanted to go to the "best chinese buffet ever."

Uh, yeah. Of course I do. Why are we sitting here talking about it ?

So, we went to the buffet, and gorged ourselves just like the old days. It was fabulous.
THEN we went to her family's house to eat, again. But the food wasn't quite ready, and we were antsy, so we went out and bought wine, and stopped into her apartment, and went to Starbucks, and THEN went back to the house for dinner.

I fell asleep on the couch.

It was a good day.

Thankful

Thanksgiving Day began with an overpriced thanksgiving morning breakfast next to a drafty window. Hmph.
Then we went to the front desk, to clear up our registration issues.

In the process of discovering that they had no idea what room we were in - I don't know why they didn't just consult the LEGAL PAD) they also offered me bracelets for bleacher seats in the viewing stands for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We walked outside, and were met with barricades and a wall of people. There was no way we were going to be able to get to the stands without detouring several blocks - and it was cold. And we were worried that we would get over there, and then not be able to get out again if we needed to. So we ditched the bracelets.

We watched the parade for a little while, so the kids could see how big the balloons were, and the floats. But we were so far away, it was hard to tell ! After about an hour, we decided to go back to the hotel, watch the parade on TV, and get dressed for our Thanksgiving.

Back in the room, chaos reigned. I was trying to pack, the kids were running around like lunatics, we had the parade on full blast in addition to hearing it outside in the street, and the sleeper sofa was still pulled out, so we were edging around the room while I tried to iron our dress clothes. I had to have another drink. Or three.

Finally, we headed downstairs, only to be confronted by another mob scene at the front desk. We literally could not get to the front desk to check out, and I was not going to stand in line for an hour, so we just bailed on the whole thing and I figured I would call the hotel in a little while and check out over the phone. I had already called for the car to brought out of the garage, and when we got downstairs, we were told that they wouldn't give us our car until we had checked out. Fuck.

So I went back upstairs and did one of the rudest things ever. I walked right past the long line, pushed my way through the crowd, and got the attention of one of the desk clerks. I told her that the car was already downstairs, and our kids, my husband, and the valet were all standing down there. She got the picture, stamped the ticket, and I ran down to the waiting car, which the valet had unlocked and allowed the kids to get into in the meantime.

I pulled a u-turn in front of the hotel, and drove the wrong way down a one-way street. The parade had just ended, and there was just a wall of humanity moving slowly away from the parade route. I had my NY driving ability in gear, so I just charged through, and hopped on the highway, getting out of town in record time. We were heading for Westport, and a restaurant called the Red Barn, to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family.

It turns out the Red Barn is a restaurant that is very popular with the senior citizens of Fairfield County. Every table had a crowd of blue hairs, all hunched over these plates that were just PILED with food - hence the popularity, I guess. The doggie bags would feed a family of four. It was outrageous, the amount of food they were putting on those plates. And while I was sitting there, getting all worked up about how much food was going to waste, and how no one should ever eat that much food in one sitting, my aunt looked over my shoulder and said "Is that man throwing up?"

Why yes, yes he certainly was. Right outside the window. Not 5 feet away. And he was facing me and puking into the landscaping, so i had a front row seat to the Greatest Show on Earth. Awesome.

While the old man was retching into the shrubs, a firetruck, ambulance and police car all pulled up with their lights flashing. Oh good, I thought, this nice old man is going to get some medical attention. But no. They were there for some other old guy who was having a medical emergency in a different part of the restaurant.

The whole situation was so bizarre that really, the only thing I could do was laugh.

Once everyone was done puking, and CPR-ing, and eating, we got back in the car and headed for Boston, to have Thanksgiving meal number 3 - this time with Sami's family. We arrived, we sat, we chatted, and then drove to another aunt's house to sleep. And it was good. The end.

More later.