Skipping Town

We went to New Hampshire this weekend in honor of Greta's birthday--a short trip, Friday through Sunday, but fun because Andrew's dad joined us. Wasps were once again unwelcome guests, and Friday night, right after the girls went to bed, Lucia called down to us from the top of the stairs for something, put her hand on the railing--and got stung by a wasp that had been sitting there. She'd never been stung by a bee or wasp before, so we put her to bed on the couch for an hour so we could make sure she didn't have a reaction. (Once she got over the pain and surprise of the sting, she was pretty pleased to be able to sleep next to me on the couch.) Saturday was pretty much the perfect New Hampshire day. We set out first thing for a nearby farm for pumpkin picking, and the girls had a fantastic time selecting pumpkins, riding in a wagon, and dashing through a corn maze. We had to cajole them out of the maze with a promise of apples and cider donuts in the farmhouse, whi...

Dear Little Miss Grets, You're three! Happy birthday, dear one. You were swept up in this month's birthday excitement, announcing throughout the day, "It's my birthday!" and holding up three fingers. We celebrated yesterday in New Hampshire, where we traveled for the weekend with Bobby so we could go pumpkin-picking and nature-walking for your birthday. It was such a great weekend, and you were very excited about your presents. The biggest hits were your own super-big My Little Pony with rainbow hair, like Lucia's (you've been coveting this pony for months), and your Strawberry Shortcake friend Cherry Jam, which goes along with the Strawberry Shortcake you got for Lucia's birthday. (Figuring out what each of you get for your birthdays, and which things you'll get for each other's birthdays, is quite the project.) Three. How funny you've gotten, and how silly. You talk constantly, often incorporating phrases you've picked up from ...

Dear Lulu, Happy, happy birthday, little one! Your birthday was yesterday, and you are so very excited to be five. You've been looking forward to this birthday so much, and we made it a big one for you. On Sunday, we threw you a bounce-house birthday party in a giant warehouse in Secaucus--definitely not a place Daddy or I ever imagined existing, let alone patronizing, pre-you (or, more accurately, pre-New Jersey). It was a ton of fun. Twenty-two children came to help you celebrate, including friends from both your old school and your new school. Aunt Molly and Luca were there too, and had visited for the weekend, which made it even better. You, Greta, and Luca became fixated by the water fountain for a bit, and Molly and I feared you'd never return to your wild climbing and bouncing. You had cupcakes at school on your birthday. And that evening, we gave you your presents, including a variety of My Little Ponies, a Jasmine, some books, two games, a Tinkerbell movie and f...

We eagerly saved and planned for this renovation, so there is no point at all in complaining about it. That said, I will, for the record, say this: 1. It is annoying to have to turn off all the lights in the basement whenever I microwave anything so I don't blow a fuse. 2. Having to journey from the basement to the attic--three flights of stairs--every time one of the girls needs to use the bathroom is tedious. 3. It is unpleasant to wash dishes in the laundry sink which is usually filled with dust and paint chips raining down as they work on the kitchen above. 4. It is dusty. 5. It is a sad fact that I actually enjoy eating and (semi-)cooking in our makeshift basement kitchen than I did in our "real," now-demolished kitchen. That is all.

A post by our guest blogger, Andrew In February, 2012, Margo and I went to visit our first house with our new realtor Maggie in Maplewood. We had taken a few trips out by ourselves and gone to some open houses, but this was the first time we were really serious about things. We’d looked online and emailed  Maggie a few listings that had caught our attention. At the very end of that first email we included a link to a house that was well over our budget and that appeared to need a ton of work. But it was charming and old with lots of character -- all things Margo and I prize above most everything else when it comes to houses -- and so we wanted to see it. I included a comment to Maggie that said “Way over budget, but this may be our dream house.” When we arrived out in Maplewood, it was the first house on the tour. “Let’s see if we can get you the dream,” Maggie said. We pulled up outside the house for the first time, and somewhere deep inside us, both Margo and I knew we...

Our trip to New Hampshire the last weekend in September seemed doomed. Andrew had to unexpectedly go to Mexico the week we were planning to go, and our renovation was scheduled to start the Monday after we'd planned to return. But somehow, we made it work. We drove there Friday morning and returned Sunday night. A short trip, but refreshing and reviving as usual. Continuing our trend of pick-your-own, we took the girls apple picking on Saturday, which was so much fun. Both girls love picking fruit, and there were plenty of apples within reach; it didn't take long at all two fill two large bags. Then we tasted some apple cider (and hard cider, for me and Andrew). Next up will be pumpkin picking later this month. We happened upon a rummage sale--yay!--on our way home from the orchard, and I picked up a great elephant tent for $2.50. The girls played in the tent with their My Little Ponies for most of the rest of the weekend. They even ate some of their meals in it. We spent ple...

At the invitation of some friends, we headed down to Baltimore a few weeks ago to spend the weekend seeing Andrew's family and ostensibly celebrating the 100th anniversary of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. We didn't do too much to mark the occasion, but we did pack a lot of visiting into one weekend: drinks with Maplewood friends who moved to the Baltimore area this summer; Molly and Luca, who came in for a morning and afternoon; Andrew's parents and family friends; and even Andrew's sister, in town for a bachelorette party. It was a great little getaway. When Luca and the girls were together, Molly and I were amused that despite the presence of all the "tall ships" in the harbor and other entertainments, the kids were solely focused on the sticky hands given to them by the hotel staff. They threw them again and again at the doors of the aquarium.

Dear Lulu, Your last letter as a four-year-old! Insanity. Five is right around the corner, and you're ready for it. I'm extremely late writing this letter, and delinquent with the last letter, but no matter. I'll keep it brief so I can do a proper one for your birthday next week. The biggest milestone this month has been the start of school, your last year of preschool: Pre-K 5's. This is a big change. You go every day from 8:45am till 1:30pm (Fridays you come home at 11:45), and it's a lot more school-like than your previous two years. I really see the difference already. You're learning a lot, and you seem so much more kid-like and grown-up from the things you're doing. It's a new school for us, and you made the transition without a hiccup--no hesitation on the first day, and only excitement from that point on about going back each day. You don't share too many details about your activities--getting you to share what you did is like pulling tee...

Dear Grets, I'm writing this letter late, but your third birthday is approaching and I wanted to be sure to slide one in before that. It's been a big, big month for you, with the start of preschool. You were so excited to begin--and so excited on your first day, holding a sign that said "First Day of Preschool 2014" for pictures on the front steps, and traipsing jauntily to school with Lucia, Daddy, and me. When we got there, however, your high spirits evaporated, and you clung and sobbed when I left. When I returned, I was told that you'd stopped crying quickly but had a "sad day." Indeed, when I peeked into the room just before pickup, I saw you at the little table with the other kids, who were all having a snack while you stood with the teacher at the end of the table, red-eyed and sad-faced. When the parents came into the room and you saw me, your face gave way, and you began sobbing so heart-wrenchingly that I, too, began crying. Not a great first...