Skipping Town

Friday 7/29 Andrew worked from home and took the girls to the pool in the afternoon while I grocery shopped. Cheeseburgers and zuccini on the grill for dinner. Saturday 7/30 A big day for us. In the morning, we went to a local Volvo dealership to test-drive Andrew's desired car, the XC90. It's a three-row car, much larger than our small wagon, and it's been clear for a while now that it's time for us to upgrade. So we test drove it and then L&G occupied themselves in the car dealership's kid-friendly waiting area (TV! Balloons brought to them! Snacks!) while we suffered through the ridiculous charade that is buying a new car. End result: we bought one. It's the third car of our marriage, and the first brand-new one. I hope we like it!! L&G were freaking out during the test drive, beside themselves with excited proclamations of how much they loved the car, how we HAD to buy it, how they loved the white color (we're not getting white), how they...

Thursday was, yet again, a good day. I think we've reached a kind of turning point with little miss Greta. She's been pleasant and amenable to doing things like, you know, getting dressed and putting on shoes, with no wild whining that brings our day screeching to a halt. So, good. Maybe the whole Pinkie Pie Sweet Shoppe debacle will have led to something good in the end. We didn't do too much Thursday morning, just hung out at home. Lots of playing with ponies, Shopkins, and Legos. In the afternoon, one of Lucia's friends came over for a playdate. Lucia had been soooo excited, and they all had fun. Some iPad time, leftovers for dinner, lots of reading (Princess in Black, Francine Poulet and the Ghost Raccoon, Stella Batts: Superstar), and we'll call it a day. One thing I forgot about Wednesday. At one point during the day, L&G were happily playing downstairs in the basement with a bunch of toys they'd carried downstairs. I was in the kitchen, online...

Wednesday was a nice day, all around. The cleaners were here, which meant we had to be out of the house for most of the morning, so I took L&G to the mall with me to return some shirts I'd bought and no longer needed thanks to my super-deals at Gabe's last week. They were pleasant and happy at the mall and even tried on some rash guards, which I was hoping to find for our beach trip in August (no luck). There was no whining, no bickering, no silliness. We even went to Bath & Body Works and I sprayed the girls with their choices of body splash. (I'd gone there with the hope of finding some Sun-Ripened Raspberry products, which I'd heard they were bringing back--but alas, they brought back that scent only for June.) When we got home, we had lunch and quiet time. A note on quiet time: it became clear early in the summer that the quiet time we've had all these years to this point--just playing in their rooms--was no longer going to work. The reasons are many. ...

Monday, it was back to normal here in New Jersey. Andrew went to work, and the girls and I had our day. It was a surprisingly good day all around. No fighting, no whining. We went to the library, had lunch, then went to the pool for a little while before going to gymnastics. Going to the library has been really fun this summer, with the girls' interests expanding and deepening in new books and series. Lucia especially loves the Stella Batts series, which I like too. And yesterday we discovered our first Princess in Black book--really really great. I ordered two from Amazon because it's clear they'll be favorites for a long time. Today wasn't as fully good as yesterday. Greta descended into some whining this morning, pushing me to my limit, but she eventually rallied. We had lunch and quiet time and then went to the pool for the whole afternoon. It's been in the nineties, so the pool has been a real relief since, of course, we don't have air-conditioning. Bot...

Saturday, Mom and I took the girls to the Yough River Trail for a bike ride. They rode three miles with barely a blink of fatigue--Lucia rode far ahead, zippy; and Greta, too, pedaled fast enough so that I had to run to keep up. They had a lot of fun. Afterward, they played by the river, "not going in the water." Andrew flew back from CA that evening, so I drove to Pittsburgh to meet him and go out to dinner with three of our friends. We had a great time--building the case for a move to Pittsburgh someday... Sunday was the day of an epic Parenting Fail. As you may recall, we embarked on our week in Connellsville with a grand agreement: Greta agreed not to whine, and she and Lucia would receive the Pinkie Pie Sweet Shoppe set in return. Lucia's part of the bargain was not to bicker with Greta so much. Neither girl fulfilled her end of the deal for the entire week. There was a lot of whining. There was a lot of fighting. Requesting pristine behavior for a week was a roo...

Thursday, Lucia, Greta, and I started off the day with a visit and swim at the home of some of my very very old friends, along with another old friend and her daughter. It was so much fun to see all the kids in real life, not just Facebook life. Lucia and Greta had a blast. They'd swim all the time if they could. We were there almost two hours and they got out of the pool only once, to eat a donut. Mom's cousins were in town so the girls played at home the rest of the day. They made a big mud puddle outside, in which their ponies played. Today, I went for a walk on the Yough Trail first thing--if I could start off every day this way, I would. What a peaceful, beautiful place. When I got home, we all walked to a rummage sale at a nearby church. It was underwhelming. Unfortunately, Greta's disappointment at not finding a treasure propelled her into a downward spiral of whining that she couldn't break out of. So much for the Pinkie Pie deal. Mom and I got her to get in...

Monday, Andrew drove into Pittsburgh to work at the Pittsburgh office for the day. After our Idlewild outing, we took it easy at home, just playing here. We visited Grandma and Florence at Beechwood. Afterward, Mom had promised L&G some new Shopkins, so we went to Target to pick some out. Later, L&G and Mom and I took a walk/scooter ride around the neighborhood in the evening. Tuesday, we all drove into Pittsburgh together to go to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Such a wonderful place. Andrew got to stay with us for about an hour, before Ubering to the airport to catch his flight to CA. Mom, Dad, the girls, and I stayed at the museum. L&G like the dinosaurs and the gems, but more than anything else they love the Hall of North American Animals--beginning with the gruesome diorama of the lion attacking the camel and rider. They also love the bears eating salmon, and anything that depicts a predator attacking or planning to attack its prey. Greta really liked feelin...

We made a big plan for today: Idlewild. It almost didn't happen, because Greta succumbed to a fit of whining in the morning and refused each and every part of the preparations, including but not limited to putting on sunscreen, putting on her shoes, and putting on her clothes. We got her out the door, and by the time we got to Idlewild she'd rallied, and she was fine the rest of the day. I hadn't been to Idlewild for thirty years, I'm guessing, but I have vivid memories of pieces of it, and it was fun to be back. We started off in Storybook Forest. L&G liked going into all the little houses and identifying the storybook figures along the way. They met Princess Lily in the castle at the end. Then we went to Jumpin Jungle, which they loved. They REALLY loved the ball pit, and liked doing cannonball jumps into the balls. They both even climbed the huge rope-net climb thing, which is notorious in our family for an incident in which a young Molly got stuck in the mid...

Went to the pool Thursday afternoon. Got rained out by a huge rainstorm. Went to the diner later for dinner. Friday 7/15 we drove to Connellsville for the next big portion of our summer. Saturday: Connellsville! The girls are so excited to be here, and so are we. In the morning, L&G asked us to leave them alone with Gra and Pop-Pop, so Andrew and I took a run/walk on the Yough River Trail and then went to Gabe's and lunch at Panera. In the afternoon, Mom and Dad went to work at the St. Rita's Church Festival, and we met them there at 5pm for some delicious food. L&G loved the food as well and then had a blast playing down by the river. Our festival fare: cavatelli, meatballs, manicotti, pierogies, sausage sandwich, fried dough, ice cream. Food bliss.

Today was much better than yesterday. This morning, L&G played with their ponies for a long time, and then we went to the zoo. We rode the zoo train and the carousel, looked at the snakes and lizards, and Lucia touched lots of stingrays. Then we had lunch and quiet time. Then we went to the pool, which was less successful today because it was overcast and the water was cold and the girls were too chilly to stay for very long. They each had an ice cream there and then we went home. We read a bunch on the porch today. We finished Stella Batts: A Case of the Meanies and read most of Daisy Dawson Is On Her Way, and Lucia read a few paragraphs herself. Tonight a teacher from our preschool invited me to her book club--they'd read Each Vagabond by Name this month and I joined the discussion. Really fun to talk about the book and the inspiration for it. Greta made a grand pronouncement today: she will NOT WHINE the entire time we're in Pennsylvania. In return, I will buy her ...

We drove home on Sunday. We'd planned to spend most of the day in NH but it was pouring rain and the girls were surly so we just called it a wrap. Monday, we hung out at home, went to the library to get some new books, and then had gymnastics class. Of course Greta put up a fight about going, but then Ollie, her Beanie Boo octopus, suggested to me that if I gave Greta a hug she'd change her tune, and lo and behold, it worked. Sometimes I have serious worries that Greta is a schizophrenic. Today. Oh, today was a doozy. The girls woke up in a mood and were attempting to kill each other at the breakfast table. I was able to jump ship to go to the chiropractor, but when I got back Andrew left for work and we had to forge ahead with the day. Fortunately, they were in better spirits by that point and spent most of the morning riding things around the driveway and soaking each other with the hose. They were having a great time so I didn't intervene. We read a lot on the porc...

Our last full day in NH and it rained all day. We made it through, for the most part. Lucia wanted to work on "The Ghost of Mystery" right away--she'd even written a page on her own before we went downstairs--so we did that. We're marking up her sight word flash cards with key words she's learning for the story--ghost, mystery, spooky, scary, hunter. She's very motivated and excited about the project. We read books and played Memory and the girls played with their Num Noms. Greta likes hers more today, mostly the Nom that vibrates and scuttles around the table. The others she sometimes wants and sometimes gives to Lucia. We tried to get L&G to go for a rain walk, but they were uninterested. Later, though, after a little iPad time, we corralled them outside to the woods to check on the fairy doors. They got totally wrapped up in creating more elaborate fairy setups with fern leaves, sticks, and other found materials. They worked on those for a long time...

Back in gear a little more today. I read lots of chapters of the latest Critter Club book to the girls this morning. Then we spray-painted some rocks with hot pink spray paint we'd bought at Walmart. While that dried, L&G did some batting practice with Andrew. It was cloudy and seemed likely to rain all morning, so we squeezed outside things in while we could. We took our stone fairy doors and put them by trees in the woods by the house. They looked so cute--we'll hunt for them again when we come back next time. Then we had lunch, and then we went back to the creek. The creek magic was in full force today, and L&G played like crazy, sending their Equestria Girls downstream again and again, getting soaked in the process. They loved it. The rain never came, but we took another trip to Walmart anyway so Andrew could get another plastic bin to finish his organization of the linen cupboard--a haven for mice during the winter. While there, we let the girls each buy a pack...

Quiet day today. L&G are tired. We've been doing so much physical activity and today they were beat. It was cloudy, so we just had a low-key morning, reading Ivy & Bean and Critter Club books, coloring, etc. We went on an errand to Walmart. We had lunch. Then we set up our rock-painting shop and painted a bunch of the rocks we've collected over the past few days. As usual, I was the most into it, but come on--how cute are my stone fairy doors? Tomorrow we'll hike into the woods and nestle them against welcoming trees. Later, we all went to St. Gaudens, which was open for an event for the local hospital, and walked around the grounds. L&G are reeeeaaally excited about the idea of finding four-leaf clovers, and they both hunted around for them as we walked. Lucia actually did find a four-ish-leaf clover--a regular clover with what looked like an extra leaf growing out of one of the leaves--and we decided that definitely counted.

Had a bit of a quieter day today after yesterday's hike. This morning we went on a wildflower walk in the large meadow. This was Greta's request, a great one that we were all excited about, so it was particularly frustrating when she threw a fit about putting sunscreen on and refused to go. On the bright side, Lucia and I had a lovely walk together, where Lucia picked some flowers and asked a lot of questions about things Molly and I did when we were little. I told her about Molly and Pop Pop's Gift--sighting four-leaf clovers--and she was intrigued. She wondered if she would get the Gift, since she was the oldest, but seemed troubled when I said I didn't have it even though I was the oldest. Time will tell. Greta and Andrew joined us after a while and Greta made a wildflower bouquet as well. Then Lucia became determined to collect an entire bucket of red berries to turn into a "poison jam," so we got a bucket and returned to the field to collect. G...

Had a bit of a quieter day today after yesterday's hike. This morning we went on a wildflower walk in the large meadow. This was Greta's request, a great one that we were all excited about, so it was particularly frustrating when she threw a fit about putting sunscreen on and refused to go. On the bright side, Lucia and I had a lovely walk together, where Lucia picked some flowers and asked a lot of questions about things Molly and I did when we were little. I told her about Molly and Pop Pop's Gift--sighting four-leaf clovers--and she was intrigued. She wondered if she would get the Gift, since she was the oldest, but seemed troubled when I said I didn't have it even though I was the oldest. Time will tell. Greta and Andrew joined us after a while and Greta made a wildflower bouquet as well. Then Lucia became determined to collect an entire bucket of red berries to turn into a "poison jam," so we got a bucket and returned to the field to collect. G...

Going to bed. A quick rundown of a busy, fun day: L&G, miraculously, slept till almost 9am, after not getting to bed till nearly 11pm after our fireworks excursion. Went to the creek in the morning. The Equestria Girls were floated, thrown, balanced, and othewise adventured in the water. The girls got tired around lunchtime, so we took it easy for a little while and read some books. Then we rallied and took them on a huge hike to the top of Mount Ascutney--they had fun, and the view was amazing. Lucia was like a tiny Gollum, running and jumping along the rocky path. We told her over and over again to slow down, but of course she didn't, and of course on the way down she fell. Lots of tears, but she's okay. We went out for well-deserved ice cream afterwards. Girls collapsed in bed. We ate dinner after they were asleep, outside, watching the sunset. Lovely. Oh, and yesterday, since we were out in the yard long past our usual time, we saw two deer. And a skunk rig...

The Fourth of July is a strange holiday for me to love, but love it I do. Maybe it's because for the past few years we've made a point of celebrating it in New Hampshire, and making our Fourth of July stay one of the longest of the summer. This is when we try to stay here for at least a week; sometimes, depending on when the holiday falls, we're lucky enough to stay even longer. That's this year: we're here for 10 days. We started off the Fourth with a parade in Plainfield, as we do every year. L&G get so excited about this parade--it's the only one we go to each year, and candy is thrown in abundance. They collected a huge haul that almost made up for the blazing hot sun we were standing in. My favorite part of the parade: small bottles of chocolate milk handed out by a local dairy farm. This is small town America, right here. After the parade, we had hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches from the firemen's BBQ tent. In the afternoon, we went swimmi...

Another ridiculously early rising for both kids. They were both awake by 6:20am. They colored and played upstairs for an hour until Andrew took them downstairs. (He got to sleep in yesterday; today was my turn.) Once we all reconvened, we traipsed down to the pond once more. I floated around in the inflatable boat we got last time, which is extremely peaceful, even if paddling around means dredging my hands through all the algae. It's fun to get up close to the little frogs floating around on the leaves. While Andrew made lunch, the girls and I collected some rocks on the road. Forgotten in yesterday's post: picking bouquets of wildflowers, the first activity of any visit here. The black-eyed susans are in full force here now. After lunch, we gathered ourselves and went to St. Gaudens for the Sunday concert. We laid out a blanket and spent the first half of the piano performance in surprising peace: Andrew and I laid down and listened, and L&G colored pictures in thei...

On Friday, Andrew returned from California. It's always tough when he's away but it's even tougher in the summer, when there's no break for me whatsoever during the day and evening. BUT he returned, and brought plush Rainbow Dashes in matching purses for L&G, and after loading up the car, we set out for NH. It was the longest. drive. ever. Traffic warnings on whatever app map thingy Andrew' uses sent us a roundabout way that was lovely but looooong. And everyone kept having to go to the bathroom. We didn't get to NH till 6pm, so we just stopped at our favorite pizza place for dinner before heading to the house. This made us all happy. Lucia woke up at 5:30am on Saturday, and Greta followed at 6:30. This is not usual for them--they reliably sleep till 7am or sometimes even 7:30 or 8am these days. But up here, something changes--the light is brighter, the world seems to wake up earlier, and the birds are crazy-loud outside our windows. They played for a wh...