The Store with More

October 6, 2010, at 11:13 pm | 2 comments

When the girls wake up from their naps now, I often hear them over the monitor, engaging in serious conversations between cribs.  For example, earlier this week, I heard Becky tell her sister:

“I don’t like rollercoasters.  I go on an airplane.” 

Today, I heard Becky inform Susie:

“I want to go to the fair.  I want to see cows and horses and sheep.” 

To which I heard the ever-logical Susie reply:

“Ask Mommy.”  

And sure enough, when I went in a bit later to get them up, the first words out of Becky’s mouth were: “I want to go the fair!  I want to go on a helicopter!” 

I didn’t have the resources at hand to supply my children with a flying musical ride, but I figured I could at least satisfy their longing to see some barnyard animals.  Off we went to a local grocery store that, amazingly enough, also features a small zoo of sorts in the parking lot.  I’m using the term “zoo” rather loosely – it’s simply a collection of pens that contain some chickens, turkeys, sheep, goats and cows.  But those are all the animals my girls care about at this point, so they were quite happy with the selection.

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The store also has a pumpkin “patch” outside, so we wandered through the aisles, although the girls were more interested in the Halloween decorations than the gourds.  Susie kept announcing that the ghosts and goblins were “see-y” (that is, “scary”…but she pronounces it just like she says the word “silly” and also very close to how she says “Susie”…so I guess it’s possible she was dismissing the decorations as silly…or my least favorite option, she thought the glowing witches looked like her…).  Becky, on the other hand, just wanted to give all the skeletons kisses.

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After finishing our tour of the Halloween section, we headed inside.  The girls are at a phase right now where they don’t want to ride in the front of the cart where I usually place them (I squeeze each child’s legs into the hole where one leg is supposed to go, so I know it’s not exactly a comfortable seating arrangement for them).  So, because I was feeling brave and/or foolish, I told them that they could walk with me through the aisles as long as they held my hands.   But unfortunately, that didn’t work either, because they both wanted to hold their own basket, which required two hands.  So I simply herded them through the aisles, and they behaved remarkably well.  I realized shortly after entering the store that I had forgotten my wallet in the car, which was probably a fortunate mistake, as I don’t know if I could have counted on their good behavior lasting through a checkout aisle.  Why oh why do stores place packs of gum and candy within little arms’ reach? 

Don’t answer that.  I’m hoping we can delay the “gimme’s” for a few more years.

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52 Card Pickup

October 5, 2010, at 9:52 pm | 2 comments

Today, the extent of my rainy-day creativity was to throw packs of cards on the basement floor and tell the girls to play 52 card pickup.

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They didn’t seem to mind.   

Under the Sea

October 4, 2010, at 11:38 pm | 2 comments

Susie (on left): “I hope these funny-looking fish don’t swim in the lake we go boating on!”

Up, Up and Away

October 3, 2010, at 10:45 pm | 2 comments

Thanks to my in-laws’ kindness in watching the girls, Jim and I were able to take a little trip up North to Lake George, New York this weekend.  We drove up late Friday night (hooray for road trips filled with adult conversation and radio broadcasts, rather than toddler bantering and kids music!), and then spent the whole day Saturday exploring upstate New York.  The weather was gorgeous – it was in the mid-fifties with a bright blue sky, perfect for taking in the breathtaking views around the lake and its surrounding towns.  We drove up to Gore Mountain and found a gondola ride that took us to the summit.  It’s always nice being able to enjoy the mountaintop views when you didn’t have to actually expend any energy to get up there! 

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Once at the top, we took a leisurely hike and tried not to get blown off the mountain by the high winds in some spots.   

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Jim was thrilled to be able to use our iPhone as a compass and constantly told me which direction we were heading and what states we were viewing in the distance.  I didn’t really care, as long as we stayed on the path, but I was glad he was happy and felt useful!  I was also secretly relieved that we at least had the compass, since neither Jim nor I will ever be able to approach Bear Grylls’ wilderness survival skills, and I figured we would be hard pressed to navigate by constellation, if need be.  

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We successfully navigated back to the gondola, without the need for compass or constellation.  Although Jim was evidently still in “Man Vs. Wild” mode, because when our gondola inexplicably stopped halfway down the mountain and didn’t resume for several minutes, Jim assured me that, if push came to shove, he had a plan whereby he would force open the doors of the gondola, sling his jacket over the cable suspended above, and slide down to the nearest guide pole where he would descend the ladder and go get help.  Needless to say, I was very thankful when the gondola roared back to life and we were able to travel the rest of the way down in the comfort of our enclosed cage, with our pride and necks still intact. 

After the excitement of the morning, we decided to slow things down with a leisurely train ride.  Starting off in the little ski town of North Creek, we boarded an historic passenger train that rode us along the Hudson River to the tiny town of Riparius and back. 

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In between delightful bursts of bluegrass music playing from the loudspeaker, our friendly conductor informed us about the history of the Upper Hudson River Railroad, as well as the towns’ histories (like the little tidbit that it was at the North Creek train station in 1901 that then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt found out that President McKinley had died of gunshot wounds and he was now President). 

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After our train returned to North Creek, we headed back home to Connecticut, thankful for the time we were able to spend together and the beautiful sights we enjoyed (and for the yummy food at a Chipotle’s we found!).  We joyfully reunited with the girls at my in-laws’ house, and promised the girls to take them back up with us next time so they could ride the gondola and train as well.  Throughout our time away, Jim and I had kept commenting about how much the girls would love it up there.  We may have been far from the girls in body, but they’re never far from our hearts!

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Bed Potatoes

October 1, 2010, at 6:15 pm | 2 comments

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