And the award for Perfect Attendance goes to . . .

not Brenna!

Yup, poor bugger hasn't even been in school a full week and she's sidelined by a stomach bug already. What gives? She escaped the preschool germ factory unscathed yet gets flattened in grade school when the kids aren't really sharing supplies anymore. Oh well - solves the problem of what to do with all the hand sanitizer I bought last winter . So it's been an uneventful day here. And one that reminded me of why I haven't gone back to work yet. Throw in an unplanned snow day (like we don't get those here in Montgomery County!) and I may never go back!

Luckily Miss Brenna feels much better after a nap this morning so I figure she'll be back in action tomorrow. So that's the scoop here.

Super Snooper

Dean's mom picks up neat things she sees during her shopping trips and keeps a supply of gifts handy at all times. Particularly stuff for two spoiled little girls I should point out! Since Krissy has moved out, Cindy's stash has been shuffled to Krissy's now-unused closet. I never knew this until today, but it seems my little super snooper did.

We stopped in to see my in-laws this afternoon and the girls were entertaining Grandpa while we waited for Grandma to come home. Molly disappeared and shortly thereafter Grandpa found her lounging on Krissy's bed with the closet open. When asked what she was doing she coyly replied, "Just resting." She admitted she had opened the closet and when he asked what she found there, the ever-sly Molly replied with a grin,

"Oh, just a whole lot of cool things that sure don't fit Krissy anymore!"

Isn't she bad? What on Earth am I going to do with her?

All I need to know I learned in PreK . . .

Day 2: Molly informed me that the principal (who had come in to see them yesterday) did not come today but that "she talks to us from her box and she can even hear in it too!" It never dawned on me that the PA system would be a new thing to her!

She also very seriously stated that "in school if you pick your nose it makes Mrs. Marosy's stomach feel sick." Life lessons from PreK.

She came home with a lollipop - and a gift wrap sale packet. Yup, school has officially begun.

But we're all happy and life is good.
As long as you don't pick your nose.

One day down!

and luckily both have agreed to go back to school tomorrow! Molly described it as "really fun" and Brenna as "perfect" so I'll take that as a good sign.

Of course the day started with a hiccup when Molly's alarm clock rang (must have one like big sister of course) at 7am and she marched into my room announcing, "My alarm just went off but the problem is - it's still night outside!" It was overcast so it seemed darker than it was. Clearly she is not our morning girl! Everyone was out the door on time (to my surprise - wish me luck tomorrow!) and up to the quad to drop off Brenna. After some chitchat with other parents and the necessary photos, Miss Molly became fussy at the attention Brenna was hogging and insisted that she be taken to her class right away. Bossy pants that she is.

Brenna has 3 classroom teachers this year. Every class (PK-4) usually has a lead and a secondary teacher. Her secondary teacher will also be doing some computer classes so one of the nuns will be a third teacher. I like them all. She also has one new girl - she was in their PreK (Brenna and many others weren't though) and moved to Alaska when her dad was deployed to Iraq for 2 yrs. She'll have some good stories. My Uncle Michael just moved to Eagle River, AK so Brenna said she talked to Isabella and told her that.

Molly told us at dinner that they sang some songs today. "One went, 'Good morning! Good morning! . . . ummm. I don't know the rest, but you get the drift'." Let's hope she retains a bit more as the year goes on!

So now it's just me, myself and I each day. Wow! Of course tomorrow I have a Girl Scout meeting after dropoff and then was asked to help in the school library computerizing some new books. Some things never change!

Farewell to Summer!

And since most of those Story Land pics were of Brenna, I'll use these two of Molly as our last shots of summer. They both start school on Tuesday so we're double checking supplies, doing the last of Brenna's summer reading (she's read far more than her required 12 books but I'm not telling her that!) and pulling out uniforms.

As exciting as it is, we're still sad to see summer end. It truly was one of our best. Brenna learned to ride a 2-wheeler and swim quite well, Molly learned "to dunk and doggie-paddle" in the pool and we all relaxed with friends and had wonderful visits with family. Let's hope next summer brings even better things!

Backtracking again . . .

A few shots from Story Land. We discovered that Molly is just as fearless as her big sister! They both wanted to ride the roller coaster and log ride (look at those faces!) over and over.

Backtracking . . .

When we were in Boston, Uncle Don took the girls bowling. Enjoy!

What's Missing?

Well, we're home safe and sound. It was so nice to walk in the door with just 3 suitcases rather than a carload of stuff (okay, the downside is I didn't get to do my Christmas Tree Shop marathon, but then again I really didn't have the time!) Also because Dean was home, there was food in the fridge and everything was ready to go. I'm sure we'll still drive to Boston most times but if good 'ol JetBlue cooperates, we may snag a few cheap flights now and then too.

Anyway, a quick glance at today's photo will show you what's missing today. Brenna's tooth has been hanging by a thread for weeks and it finally popped out. Here she is calling Papa because she knew he would like to be the first to know.

So I sang her "The Tooth Song" that she learned last year in school . . .

(tune: Turkey in the Straw)
Oh, look in Brenna's mouth and what do you see?
A great big hole where a tooth used to be!
Well she wiggled it and jiggled it
Until it wiggled free.
And now there's a window when she smiles at me!"

So now we're just hoping that the Tooth Fairy knows we're back home and pays Miss Bren a visit tonight. Oh to be 6 again!

 

Today's theme is . . .

things that make me feel old. Two photo ops in the past few days have left me REALLY feeling my age. On Saturday the girls babysat for Papa while Mom and I scooted off to a wedding. I love weddings - during the past few years we've had a steady stream of friends and cousins getting married. This wedding however was for a little boy (I can still say that) that I used to babysit! How in God's name is he old enough to be married unless, GASP!, I too have been aging! I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around this. So I say congratulations to Chris and Sarah - it was a beautiful wedding and wonderful to see Chris' family (he is my cousins' cousin in addition to being our family friend so there were lots of folks to chat with and catch up with) May it be a long, long time before they feel old!!

The next day the girls and I went to Wilmington for our ritual summer sleepover. I don't know if it's the pool, the toys, the lavish attention heaped on them, or just the excitement of it all, but Brenna and Molly simply adore visiting Auntie Dottie and Uncle Al. Sharon and Jack spent the night with us and Lisa and the ever-popular Angelo (Molly says "I'm a BIG fan of that Angelo!" whenever she hears his name. Think she likes him?) brought the fixings for ice cream sundaes that topped off the night perfectly. Nothing compared with Uncle Al's special treat though. Out he came with "The Cart." All you cousins know what I'm referring to but for all others . . . Years ago Uncle Al built a special cart that he hooked to his lawn mower and gave rides to wide-eyed nieces and nephews. It was like having a carnival right there in the backyard every time we visited! Well Jackson's arrival has renewed Uncle Al's inner child (then again, was it ever gone?) and he's refurbished the cart for a new generation of kids. Funny thing is - he's also made the cart a lot smaller. Dottie insists I'm crazy but I remember that cart being much, MUCH bigger. She then had the gall to suggest that perhaps I have gotten bigger in the three decades since I've seen the cart, but I know that to be completely untrue. So I hold to my theory that the cart was made smaller to accommodate the newest crop of kiddos - ones I'm going to insist never get any bigger. Thanks Uncle Al for continuing the fun!

Sidelined!

Looks like our feverish pace finally caught up with us. Molly has been flattened all day by a fever. Neither of the girls has ever had a fever this long so this is a first for us. She's pretty lethargic so we're just going to ride it out. Poor baby.

Brenna, in the meantime, is relishing the one-on-one time she's getting. She helped my mom at school today and now they're gone to the nail salon. My money says she'll be home with fancy nails of her own!

Things you don't want to see when entering Boston!

There was a water main break at a major intersection near my parents' right when we got here. It opened a huge sinkhole and created a geyser that blocked the whole area for nearly 2 days. Of course a week earlier was the tunnel ceiling collapse that made national headlines and has closed parts of the highway tunnel system ever since. I joked that we now had to look out for things coming up out of the ground as well as things falling from the sky!

Anyway, coming into the city today we were moving semi-steadily (by Boston standards) through rush hour traffic on the Expressway when a police car with lights and sirens squeeked through. No biggie. A minute later was a fire truck. Now we were wondering what was up ahead. A minute later an ambulance sped into the tunnel and suddenly everything stopped. We were four car lengths from the tunnel when all of the overhead lights went red and we saw this . . .



Of all the signs folks fear in this area these days!!! Luckily it was only (!!) a car fire but we had to drive through the tunnel thick with foul-smelling smoke. Things that make you go hmmmm . . .

Story Land

Have you missed us? Still plodding along on our New England Adventure we took a somewhat spontaneous trip to New Hampshire to visit Story Land. The girls love this place and I must say, this was our best visit yet. The weather was perfect in every way - sunny but not humid, cool breeze, - and the girls were perfect ages to enjoy all the rides. I have a gazillion pictures but I'll leave you with just one. The girls are wonderful to travel with and behaved beautifully over our 3 day trip. I know they're having fun but I think they are getting anxious to get back home. Brenna knows she's been invited to two birthday parties right when we get back so she's especially excited. I think Molly's just anxious to see Daddy. He was only here for two days of our three weeks away and she really misses him. We'll fly back next Weds. and then school starts the following week. We'd better enjoy these last days . . .

Castle Island

Fried clams from Sully's. . .
Walking around the Sugarbowl . . .
Chasing seagulls on the beach . . .
Wading in the ocean . . .
Playing in the playground . . .
Watching boats from the pier . . .
Seeing the sun set over the Boston skyline . . .
Back around to Sully's for ice cream . . .

Enough said.
The girls love Castle Island!

Friendship

"We are molded and remolded by those who have loved us. And though that love may pass, we remain, none the less, their work . . . No love or friendship can ever cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark upon it forever." - Francois Mauriac"

That is a quote from wedding program of my wonderful friend Maribeth. How could I read that and look around the table at these friends who have been a part of my life for 20+ years and not think about the marks they have left on my life? We may have all moved to new cities and don't always see each other as often as we'd like, but when we are together it's as if no time has passed at all. We had a fabulous time yesterday and send out best and most loving wishes to Maribeth and Chris as they start their lives together!!!

Phew!

Today is a down day (well, until Uncle Don comes walking in, that is! He always gets the girls riled up!) after back to back park playdate and swimming days. One big reason we take this longer summer trip is so the girls can spend more time with their cousins. They've now had a chance to play with Jackson, Nolan, Aidan, Michael, Nick, Johnny, Coleman, Nora, Ariel, Sasha and Tyler. Then of course there's my cousins who have been elevated to "Auntie" and "Uncle" status - along with all of my "real" aunts and uncles - so everywhere the girls turn there's Auntie Bonita, Auntie Dottie, Auntie Debbie, Auntie Sharon, Auntie Shannon, Auntie Diane, Little Auntie Diane . . . They are loving all the attention! Molly said yesterday, "I didn't even know I had so many Aunties!!" We are really having a great time visiting.

Dean flies in today and he and I will head to my friend Maribeth's wedding tomorrow. We can't tell who's more excited that we'll be out all day - Brenna and Molly or Nana and Papa!! Dean's off again on Sunday to a business trip so the girls and I will resume our heavy schedule of visiting and enjoying the gorgeous Boston weather.

Is it possible?

Buy me the shirt now - I think I'm overdosing! Iced coffee every day! One of the things I miss most being in MD is our lack of Dunkin' Donuts there. (Well there's one not REALLy close but I have to park in a metered lot and walk down the street. Ever heard of drive-thru people?!) There's one on every corner here. So Lord knows I'm making up for months of deprivation now!

Last few . . .

Next time we'll stay even longer!!

Beach Pictures

Click the small circles to see us enjoying Old Orchard Beach!

Old Orchard Beach

A fun BBQ at cousin Jackson's was followed by a road trip to Old Orchard Beach in Maine with Nana, Auntie Dottie, "Auntie" Sharon and Jackson. Here's a quick shot of the kids on the Pier just before we headed to the carnival area. Loads more pictures to come but right now we're just too sandy and tired to move! We'll lay low tomorrow and then head to Auntie Dottie's pool on Thursday for a swim party with cousins Nolan, Aidan, Michael and Nick. Also in the works is an amusement park trip with Uncle Don and Auntie Kris and a sleepover with cousins Lisa and Diane. These girls just don't stop!

Boston

The girls and I touched down and you probably heard their screams from wherever you were when my parents arrived at Logan to get us! Let the spoiling begin! They're already having a ball - my folks that is - and looking forward to a wonderful vacation. We'll be laying low in the heat today but the girls have a huge list of things they want to do in the next 3 weeks. No doubt we'll have lots to share so thanks for popping in.