A Little Getaway

Over the years, I have had to travel a lot for work.  Sometimes to exotic locales like Iceland or Santa Cruz, but most of the time to nowhereville USA like Peoria, Illinois or Oyen, Canada.  Yes, I'm aware Canada is not part of the US, but this part, a 4 hour drive from Calgery, was so far in the middle of nowhere it may as well have been. 

Last month, I was lucky enough to have to go to a conference in Nassau taking place at the Atlantis in Nassau.  And I was doubly lucky in that hubs was able to come along too and that our mothers both took the time to watch the kids.  That's right, as much as we love them, it's always nice to get away for a few days. 

We got there on a Wednesday, where I basically had to start working right away, first setting up a booth the schmoozing, which worked fine for hubs because he got a chance to relax.  The hotel complex was beautiful, but I must say it was very large, I must have hauled ass at least a half mile or so each direction going back and forth from the conference center to my room.  It totally added up over the few days we were there so my workout gear that I packed with good intentions went completely unused!

When my mandatory cocktail hour was finished, I found hubs and we explored together before grabbing a bite.  We wandered the aquariums in the main part of the hotel and walked through an area referred to as "the ruins".  Everything was very elaborately done with beautiful sea life everywhere we turned. 

Under da sea

Hub's new friend

Hiya pal!

The lone sting ray looking for a friend

Giant nasty eel-like things that seemed to glow... like in the princess bride!

The next morning, it was off to work early for me, and hubs relived our pre-kids days by sleeping until close to noon.  He found breakfast and made his way to a poolside bar where he befriended a bartender and scored free drinks and read his book all afternoon.  I managed to take a 90 minute break to go to sit on the beach with hubs before heading back for the women's networking hour.  It was strange because the conference was still going on and I felt like I was playing hooky during this break.  It was even stranger that when we were approached on the beach to jetski, etc from the locals my excuse was I have to go back to work in an hour.

I returned to my professional socializing and hubs got ready for the evening reception that I roped him into attending with me.   When I met back up with him I realized how glad I was that he was with me, since about 80% of the people had spouses there.  I'm not really good at this type of stuff and it's so much easier when he's on my arm (I'm on his?).  We enjoyed some drinks, bites, and hubs was a good sport while I networked.   It ended up being a fairly early night again since I had another early morning.

Finally, the last day of the conference arrived.  The other vendors and I joked about how we felt like kids on the last day of school, counting down the minutes until the bell rang.  And when it did, we were out in no time.  I packed up the booth and hauled the 75 lb load back to our room where hubs was waiting.  We got our suits on and headed to one of the beach bars for lunch.  We spent the afternoon on water slides, on river rapids, and playing like children.  I haven't been to a water park in almost a decade, I forgot how much fun they were.  The only awkward part was when I'd randomly see professional contacts also in their bathing suits.  I tried my best to hide behind my giant sunglasses and hope they didn't notice me. 

That night, we took a cab into town to one of the local-recommended fancy restaurants - Café Matisse.  We dined outside on a little patio that was decorated in a candlelit, rustic manner not unlike Terrain back here. It was so pretty there and the food was good.  We had a few cats wander in to visit us and the other diners and I thought it just added to the charm (we ran into many homeless cats during our trip, none who looked underfed.  They looked like the tourists took care of them, which is nice compared to many sad dogs we have seen in our other travels.).

The meal itself was really good - I got a warm shellfish salad with a guacamole and citrus sauce.  Basically it was an abundance of lobster, crab legs, mussels, and shrimp.  I have no idea what hubs got because I was too busy licking my plate to care. For dinner I got a pumpkin ravioli that was also excellent, followed by a black and white mousse that I could barely fit into my belly.  With everything that happened that day, I hit the pillow full and content that night.

Chilling in a double float on the river rapids

Rounding the corner and seeing the beach!

Water slides that shoot you UP, not just down.

Floating away!

About to take the plunge into the shark tank!

Waiting for lunch

My turn!

Obviously I went more than once

Ending a busy afternoon with a drink

Just watching other people slide on through the shark tank

YUM

Saturday morning was the first morning I could sleep in, but on vacation I'm one to pack in as much activity as possible and leave sleeping for the birds, so we were up for a reservation to swim with the dolphins.  This was something I've always wanted to do and for some reason (probably the cost they jack it up as part of a cruise excursion), we never have.  This was my favorite part of the trip, I would love to work with them for a living.  Hubs made fun of me because I was just like Gobbles is with out dogs - completely smothering.  I could have played all days with these guys.  We got to snorkel with one of them, do underwater tricks with her, and finally get pushed across the pool by a pair of dolphins swimming behind our feet.  It was exhilarating!

After the dolphins, we got lunch and drinks beach side and went to relax on the beach.  Hubs read his book and I went for a walk and just enjoyed the ocean breeze.  It was a nice afternoon to just hang out with each other, knowing it would be back to reality tomorrow.  When we'd had enough sun, we cleaned up and got ready for dinner - this time we went the other extreme - cheap street food.  We took a cab to the fish fry, which a the party area in Nassau, similar to South St in Philly and hit up Twin Brothers.  I got some local beers while hubs had some fru fru drink, keeping with his tradition that he always drinks the girliest fruitiest drinks when he's south of Florida.  We dined on Bahamian wings and conch fritters, and it was probably the best meal down there - local fare all the way. 

When we got back to the hotel, I played a few rounds at the penny and nickel slots in the casino, and we laughed about how the penny slots seemed to have a 30 bet minimum so they really weren't penny.  We wandered around the grounds one more time, taking it all in and talking about how much fun the kids would have had (as we always do when we're not with them, we constantly talk about them!).  The next morning we got on a plane and came back in time to beat the snowstorms that began to pummel us for a month straight.  The snow started so quickly after we landed, if not for the pictures it almost feels like we never even went away!

Look at that hottie in the wetsuit!

And at that ridiculous lady dancing with the dolphin

So much love to give!

I'm smiling like a goofball!

Then they yelled at me for hugging her too hard

Hubs wasn't as clingy

Nor was he as affectionate

Look ma, no hands!

Whoops, you mean I was supposed to hold on?

Tooo fast!

One of our pals

It enjoyed the pizza I fed it

paradise

Chairs built for an Irishman - with lids!

More of the view

I could just lay here all day

Aw

One last trip through the shark tank for hubs

And one last perch on the fountain for me?

Hubs pointed out this phallic art every time we walked by

Welcome to the Fish Fry

Conch fritters are ah-MA-zing!

Goodbye, Atlantis

Let's not forget all the facetiming we did!

She was like, WTF, take me to the beach!

Engineering roads at grandmom's while we're gone

and picking up bad habits

my favorite - creations just for me!

Quips from the Road

Most people hate commuting.  I'm usually one of them.  But the precious 15 minutes that I'm in the car with my kids between daycare and home is pure gold.  They come up with something new every day to keep me smiling.  Half of these conversations are long forgotten by the time I try to recall them for hubs, but the memory of the laughter and random silliness from our car rides will stay in my heart long after they're driving themselves to school.

Once in awhile, I'll remember their words long enough to make note of them for later.  Here are three exchanges we've had recently that stick out:

Lobster:  I put my thumb on the blue.  Purple is for Z, yellow for E.  Here ya go.  Gobbles, do you want a color key?
Gobbles: Stop it!  There's no such things as color keys!
Me: That's not very nice, maybe she's pretending.  No one yells at you when you pretend things are rockets.
Gobbles:  But that's because of my imagination!
Me: And the color keys are her imagination.  She's pretending to play with her friends.
Gobbles:  No! She's too little for imagination!
Lobster:  Gobbles?  Want one? I put my thumb on blue!
At this point the conversation ended because Gobbles was just so appalled that someone else was allowed to have an imagination - he couldn't believe it!

Lobster:  I wash my hands so I no eat poopy, that's yucky.
Gobbles: (laughs)
Me:  Lobster, that's gross, yes we wash our hands after we poopy, but we don't talk about eating poopy, that's just gross.
Lobster:  I wash my hands - I go poopy potty.
Me: Did you go poopy potty at school today?
Lobster: Yes! I DID!  I went with S and we go poopy potty and Miss K gave me two COINS!  We wash our hands.
Me:  Did you really go poopy potty?
Gobbles: No she didn't.
Lobster:  Yes I DID.
The next day, I asked the Lobster Roll's teachers, because they usually tell me if she uses the potty.  They confirmed that her story was all made up, and, in fact, Stella had moved out of the classroom a few months ago.

Me: Gobbles, who did you play with today? 
Gobbles: I played with M and B. 
Lobster: I played with M and B, too!
Gobbles: No, you don't have them in your class!
Lobster:  Hmm. I play with Mickey and Minnie and Goofy!
Gobbles: No! You don't have characters in your class!
Lobster:  I play with K.H. (yes, she includes last names).  We play Sophia!  I Sophia da First!
Gobbles:  Who was K? Was she the King? 
Lobster:  No, she a girl, she was James!

Finally, not so much a conversation but two notable pickups we've had recently, which, let's face it, are part of the commute.  The pickup routine is as follows - gather Gobbles and his things, go to the Lobster's classroom and get her stuff, then go find her wherever she is for pickup.  Bring everyone out to the common area to get our coats, hats, boots, etc. 

Last week, after we had gotten the Lobster Roll, Gobbles decided he had to go potty.  Ever the echo, the Lobster had to go too.  So I took them into the bathroom in the toddler area, which has two potties side by side.  The Lobster sat down at one and Gobbles stood at the other.  As soon as she saw him peeing, she stood up and turned around to face the toilet.  Thankfully her attempt at peeing standing up wasn't successful but it cracked me up that she really does mimic everything he does. 

I have had my moments of complete exasperation in leaving school too - it's not always as streamlined or laughable as I describe above.  Gathering stuff and getting dressed and making sure we have every tupperware and sippy cup and glove and boot we came in with can get daunting... and forget hair bows- we've lost them so much the Lobster's stopped wearing them!  I look at some of the mothers and wonder how they look so put together and calm all the time.  There is one mom that is very similar to me in her exhaustion and effort of just getting her two to the car some days.  Recently we had one of those nights, after two days of snow dismissals.  We were the last moms in the school trying to get everyone ready for the trip home, and all the teachers were kind of waiting for us to move along.  Both the Lobster and one of her daughters were refusing to put coats on, so we had to switch and get the other's kid dressed.  The only way to get the kids into the parking lot was to have our four kids all hold hands in a line and walk out together.  Despite our frustration we both broke out into smiles as the kids - a pre-k boy, a pre-school girl, and two trouoblemaking older toddler girls - marched out in unison, happy as can be, completely oblivious to the havoc they had wreaked upon us and our tired minds.

Don't forget, sometimes I take off my shoes and socks too.  Just because I think it's funny!
AND i sit Criss CROSS AppleSAUCE!  I SO funny!

I am just too cool for school sometimes.



Aw, mom! We've had great conversations too!

A late next morning add: 
Typical pre-storm morning with a tantrum thrower, a superhero, and two recalled carseats!

 

Two!

I'm so excited to be

Sofia da firrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs!

Moo.  The cow says Moo.

-A mashup song by the Lobster

 

Dear Little Lobster Roll,

I say this in every letter I write to you or your brother, but I can't believe how quickly time is going and how much you are growing.  You are two years old!  A big girl but still a tiny munchkin, - you weigh in at 24 lbs and are 34" tall.  Yes, that is the same weight your brother was at a year, his height at 18 months.  So, despite having the appetite and taste buds of a grown man, you are only around the 30th percentile. 

Along with those grown man statistics, you have the sass of a teenage girl.  Right now at school we're going through a bit of a phase where every week we're getting notice of you biting someone.  Of course, you seem to have an excuse - C hit me so I bite him.  I bite E but I said I sorry so it's ok.  Your teachers have been patient with you so far, telling us that you're often frustrated as you speak to the other kids and they are not responding back with sentences at your level yet, so you decide to chomp down.  One time, you told a kid I don't like that! and you looked at your teachers for reassurance.  They praised you for using your words, but the next thing they knew you bit the kid anyway.  Lobster girl, I am so torn between being happy that you are a little toughie and worried that you're a "mean girl".

You have enough silliness and intellect to counteract that sass, as you are always making people smile and laugh.  We have to constantly remind your brother not to crack up tooo much at you because you're turning into a ham.  (A ham? We're not gonna eat her?! - Gobbles).  You have so much personality in a little package, half of the things you say I just don't even know where it comes from.  You speak with such confidence and also check in with everyone else.  I'm having fun, Mommy, are you having fun?  You even corrected Gobbles one night at dinner.  We were discussing what the letter of the week would be, as the current week's was 'P'.  We asked him what came after P.  As he thought for a second, you shouted out P-Q!  Of course your brother got mad with you giving out his answer, but we considered it payback for all the colors he's taken your chance on.  Not that we need to quiz you on colors any more, since you have them down now, along with the aforementioned alphabet, counting to 20, and all the random singsongs from school.  In your future we have shapes and spelling your name, which is going to be ever so frustrating, I'm sorry little girl!

This year, you began asking for a Sofia the First birthday party as soon as the last crumb was eaten from Gobble's cake.  You discussed how you would have a Sofia cake and it would be purple and you would have your cousin Poozers there.  So we did just that, a small family get-together with Sofia throughout.  Your brother helped make your cake and decorate it with the tiny pearls the day before your party.  He did point out, as he did with my birthday cake, that you will probably be so disappointed that the cake didn't actually say Happy Birthday on it.  But, I'm not too sure you noticed.  Your party lasted all day with two rounds of pizza and cake plus lots of hugs.  You had a bonus this year in that on your actual birthday we had a snow day (completing the snow trifecta, a snowstorm on Gobbles' party day and my birthday as well this year).  We gave you your present at breakfast so you could enjoy it all day.  Gobbles had also helped us put together that, your toy kitchen.  I'm not sure what you were more excited for, the actual toy or the fact that it was pink, but regardless, you and your brother had a grand time playing (and fighting over) the kitchen all day, with only a few birthday time-outs in between. 

Finally, the day after your birthday you brought brownies to school to share with your friends.  A few days later, you told me how your pal G sang to you then took your cake and blew out your candles.  You told it with such conviction that, even though they don't do candles at school, I had to ask if G really did steal your cake.  Of course she didn't, and there you were again just creating elaborate stories.  Creative or manipulative?  It's too early to tell yet, but I urge you to stop telling your teachers that Gobbles hits you, because you know that's not true.  He puts up with your love slaps and bites like a champ but has yet to lay a hand back on you.  Oh my Lobster Roll, your terrible twos have begun.   

I'll end with this, a blurb I actually wrote in time, on the evening of your second birthday after putting you to bed:

Tonight when I went to check on you and cover you up I heard you whisper Mom! with just a little bit of urgency. In the dark I saw your little arms reach up towards me, I didn't even hesitate to scoop you up. "Let's sit" you said, so I headed over to the glider with you on my shoulder. I cradled you in my arms like a baby, and for once you didn't fight me. I stared into your wide open eyes and we rocked and rocked. You sucked your thumb abs twirled my hair with a steady smile that got bigger when you reached your pinky out in attempt to pick my nose.  I embraced the moment until you gently pointed back to your crib.  Time for nap, you whispered and I placed you back in your crib.  You lined up your two dolls as well as two Minnie Mouses, asked that your princess blanket cover the whole group, and said goodnight.  I wished you happy birthday one last time and closed the door, knowing just a little bit more of my baby will be replaced by a little girl tomorrow. 

My Little Lobster Roll, your Daddy, Brother, and I love you all so so much.  I wish I could slow down time just a little and keep you this age a little while longer, where it's still socially acceptable to pick your nose and eat it and have it be cute.

Love you forever,
Mommy




Mommy's slowly getting better at her cake-ing.  Wondering when she's just going to
give up and buy one?

Starting off the morning of my party in the corner...

Now i'm dressed up and ready for the ball!

Why thank you, i think i look quite charming as well!

Charming or just a mischief maker!

It's my party and I'll cry if i want to!

Causing more trouble!

Hahaha you crack me up!

I'm a lover of the animals as well!

I'm not always up to no good!

What?  You said stocking so I tried it on!  It's a little big!

Wow, my very own underpants!

HAHAHA look at my underpants!

Oh mom, finally, a picture of me.  Working had as usual.

I know, i know, I'm the best big brother ever!

What could it be?

Ahhh! It's pink!  Yay!  I like pink!

Gobbles, we look so sweet right now, but we're going to fight over this later.

More candles to blow out!

Another celebration! Yea!