Monday, August 31, 2009

Ice Skating, and photos

Today, Micah was invited to a birthday party at an ice skating rink. I had only taken the boys skating once, last winter, but they both really enjoyed it. I usually go to the rink in Framingham, which is VERY cold, but this party was at the rink in Marlboro, which is nicer and warmer.It was for a girl in Micah's new combined-grade class (first and second together), and it was a great way for the kids to reconnect right before school starts on Wednesday. And of course siblings were welcome to skate - private rink time!

So both boys had fun:Photobucket

And guess who else LOVED it:
Photobucket

I couldn't keep her off the ice. She did ok, as long as someone was holding her. My friend B took a turn:
Photobucket
and that's basically what I looked like (except much shorter!) while holding her. It was a lot of fun, but my back aches from bending over her!

Yesterday I took the kids out to the Ecotarium in Worcester. Our friends met us for a while, and after they left, we took a little stroll through the gardens. I tried to get a picture of all three kids for my Rosh Hashanah greetings, but Sofia was tired:
Photobucket

But I did manage to get a terrific shot of Micah:
Photobucket

Some other photos to share (just downloaded the camera...) - Here are Micah, A&A and Micah's friend B when we went to the Mass Horticultural Society gardens last week:
Photobucket

Some lovely flowers:
Photobucket

The three girls on a giant rocking chair:
Photobucket

Just Sofia:
Photobucket

who then got sleepy:
Photobucket

Horseback Riding at our neighbor's birthday party:
Photobucket

And Cowgirl Sofia with Daddy and Sammy:
Photobucket

And one final one, Miss Sofia making a break for it at the beach in Maine:
Photobucket

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Yeah! Sam Liked Camp!

Whew, that was good. I picked Mr. Samuel up at the bus today, after 4 days and 3 nights at sleepaway camp in Maine (Kingswood, in Bridgeton). I was nervous, because last night in the online pictures from camp, he'd looked miserable.

But he loved camp! He had a terrific time, and can't wait to go again. Now he does want me to consider Kingswood as well as Ramah for his longer stay. There are still things I prefer about Ramah, but we will see.

Yeah! Whew.

It's been a long slow quietish week without him. Micah has been VERY argumentative. About EVERYTHING. Which is rather annoying. Plus, he was BORED most of the time.

But last night David took Micah to the Red Sox game at Fenway, and even though Micah prefers the Yankees, he still had fun - and managed a cheer for Pappi. While they were at the game, Sofia and I went shopping with R, and then out to dinner, which would have been nice without a tired and crabby 4 year old hanging on me...

Laundry is going now. At least it's only two loads - clothing, and bedding. I can't imagine how much stuff they bring for a whole month or more!

Monday, August 24, 2009

He's at Camp!!!

Well, Sam and I got out of the house by 6:15 this morning, made a pit-stop at the Panera in Needham, and arrived at the bus stop on time (7am). He was sooo nervous. Last night, he asked me, "Mom, what happens if I have a nervous breakdown at camp?" After reassuring him that I would indeed drive all the way up to Maine to retrieve him, we reviewed more practical steps (breath deeply, walk away from the problem, talk to a grown-up, etc.).

My friend L arrived with her crew shortly after us, and Sam and A got on the bus and settled in...waaay in the back, across from the bathroom and on top of the rear wheel, but directly under a TV screen. They were happy.

I was home by 8:15 (bus pulled out at 7:30), and fell back asleep on Micah's bed for a few hours while Sofia watched Schoolhouse Rock in my room and Micah watched who-knows-what downstairs. In fact, Micah spent nearly the entire day watching his shows downstairs (Phineas and Ferb, Total Drama Island, and junk like that). We ran out for some groceries mid-afternoon, but otherwise didn't do much. I did start working a bit on my thesis, starting to get the Outline ready.

Weekend was busy. Friday afternoon, I took the kids down to the Ikea in Stoughton for a few hours of wandering about the store. Didn't buy too much, although in the food area afterwards, I spent about $30 on various delicacies like creamed roe.

Went from Ikea to D's house, changed into bathing suits, and met up with D and the kids at the lake. Sam and Micah spent a long time swimming with the kids. There was no way I was going into the lake (mucky on a calm day, it was completely chunky because the wind was whipping up all sorts of gunk), so Sofia had to settle on the shore.

After a while of that, we all headed back to the house, showered or rinsed or washed, and got ready for Shabbat. Lovely dinner, as usual. D's family is very warm and sweet, and my kids are totally comfortable with them. There were a few extra teens, one of whom had been a counselor at Micah's camp, so my boys were in heaven. Sofia played with the two younger kids, getting into a shoving match with Binny at one point about the blocks, but I think all had fun. And David and I enjoy talking with D and her husband, so all in all it was a lovely evening.

Kids all passed out on the way home (45 minute drive), and David and I slept too late in the morning, but eventually we made it to shul. Stayed for lunch, and then came home to rest for 45 minutes before the next event.

Neighborhood kid's birthday party, which all three of mine were invited to. Party was at a local farm, with petting animals and pony rides. Sofia LOVED the pony rides! I wasn't sure at first, and I walked alongside her on the first lap. But she went for three different rides around the ring!

I am NOT an animal lover, except from a distance. And I'd worn flip-flops, so NO WAY was I staying in the petting area! And poor allergic Micah, who loves animals, ended up breaking out in a rash all over his arms. But all had fun.

Made a nice dinner (family-style sushi, which is basically everything that would normally be IN a sushi maki, but in a bowl and without nori), and David and I got the kids to bed and watched the third Bourne movie. He had to be in Worcester all SUnday morning, prepping his apartments for the new tenants, so the kids and I hung out. He got home around 1:30, took a very quick shower, and took the boys back to Worcester for a baseball game along with other MWJDS families.

Sofia had a birthday party to attend at 5pm, at the gymnastics place she'd just taken class. She of course fell asleep in the car, but woke up fairly quickly. It was adorable watching her and her school girlfriends playing together. We don't get much chance to do that, and it was very sweet. They are all good with each other, helping each other out and exploring things together. A few times, Sofia had wandered off to check out some toys we don't usually use in class, and all the girls flocked over to her as soon as they noticed what she was doing.

So, now it's a quiet week. Wednesday evening, David is taking Micah to a game at Fenway, and Sofia and I are going out for dinner with my girlfriends. Tomorrow is accupuncture. Thursday we get to see my friend D and her girls, who are back from Israel, and then I pick up Sam!

Saw one picture of Sam on the camp website so far; he looks happy.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Come join our Buddy Walk team!

On October 11, we will be participating in the Mass Down Syndrome Congress' 12th annual Buddy Walk. Please come visit our site, and if you can, please join our team!

FRED - On the Penn and Teller show

Ok, check out a few of the FRED videos! I'm crying, I'm laughing so hard!

Welcome to Total Drama Island!

Never a dull moment here, huh? Well, it's actually been a mostly ok week. Monday I drove all the way back up to Maine with the kids, to go visit friends on the beach in Biddeford. They all had a blast - the three kids in that family are each about 2 years youger than each of mine, yet all three "pairs" are good friends. My friend, the mom, was working so was on the phone most of the time, but I had a nice time with her mother and grandmother, and I did get a little time to chat with her. The ride was long, but easy. And I still got home in time to go out for dinner with just my husband!

Tuesday, E met us at the pool, and I had my acupuncture appointment. This time, we started working on the sciatica, and OH MY, did I ache afterwards! I'm starting to feel better today, and can already see a little difference, so I guess I am looking forward to the next appointment.

So Tuesday was a full day at the pool, and Wednesday, we got back to the pool at 10:30, along with my neighbor and her daughter, who is turning 3 this week. Also a fun time; Miss Sofia is quite a little fish, and now can swim and put her head under water and blow bubbles, and Micah is practicing so he can take the deep-end test next summer.

Left the pool at 2:30, dropped Sam at his therapy appointment, and took Sofia to her last gymnastics class. In the smaller room, she doesn't even need any help, which really cemented my decision to switch to a "My Gym" for this year, which is geared to younger kids.

After we picked up Sam, we went to visit our friends the W's - the two kids just returned from a whole summer at camp, and Sam was very excited to see his buddy. The mom is my friend, Dad is still working at camp for a few more days, so we took the kids out for pizza. Place in Framingham has gluten-free pizza, and their regular pizza is very tasty!

So all about the drama: Tuesday, I found out from my mother that my uncle decided to plan a last-minute birthday party for himself THIS Saturday, and that my grandmother was flying up Wednesday to surprise him. Well, we already have a lot of plans and commitments for this weekend, so no way we could drive 3.5 hours each way to Stamford. But I asked my aunt if I could come down today with the kids, thinking that I could spend the day with my grandma and then see my aunt and uncle when they got home from work.

All well, and my uncle even called last night to see what kind of fish we would eat. Then he called at 7:30 this morning and told me not to come. He's just too busy. And he didn't even mention Grandma, who was supposed to be surprising him yesterday, so I wondered if she was even there.

Several hours and phone calls later, it's after noon, and obviously I'm not driving to Stamford. I've come to realize that is EXPONENTIALLY longer to drive FROM anywhere to my house than is it to drive to any of my relatives' homes with three small children.

Whatever. I love my friends, I love my community, and I'm glad I'm not under the constant pressure of being too near family all the time. If I get to be The Blacksheep for that, so be it.

But my grandmother is 97, and I can't bring all my children down to see her in Florida because they are too much to handle in her house, and because flying 3 kids to Florida is logistically difficult, so I try to see her whenever she comes north, even if it means driving several hours to one of my uncles' homes. Unfortunately, my children and I are generally NOT welcome except under the most controlled circumstances.

OK.

So E is coming over soon, and we will take the three lovely children for an outing somewhere, and enjoy summer in Massachusetts, and plan to see my friend D and her gang in Sharon tomorrow for swimming in the lake and Shabbat dinner. And friendship, which is way better than stress!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Photo Pages are up!

Whew - that took HOURS.

The Maine Vacation pics are all HERE.

And I spent the evening redesigning and reorganizing all my photo pages (since Sam was a baby). The Home Page is Here.

Home from Vacation

Oh, that was such a nice week! I had everything packed and ready, so we left by 11 am on Saturday (only an hour later than I'd planned). We hit waaay more traffic than I'd expected between here and Kittery, but after that it was smooth sailing.

We finally arrived at the cottage, on Orrs Island, around 3pm. The owner was just http://www2.blogger.com/img/blank.gifgetting ready to leave, so it was good that I was able to meet up with her right away. The cottage was just lovely. Here is the link to the Vacation Rentals By Owner page.

We Unpacked the car - because we had the boys' bikes inside the minivan, we'd borrowed a roof pack for all the luggage. The area was a heck of a lot hillier than I'd expected, and I never even used my bike. The boys bikes a little, and David took one ride with Sam. And we kept Sofia's little trike on the porch for use close to home!

We went into Brunswick, the nearest "city", about a 20 minute drive, for dinner and grocery shopping that night. Sofia was a little wild, but we did find an Italian restaurant with a gluten-free menu, so she was able to have pizza.

Sam got his own room, and Sofia and Micah shared what was apparently the brightest room in the house - both of them were awake before 5:30 am EVERY DAY. Which means, of course, that so was I. But the couches in the living room were cozy, so I was usually able to doze while they played or watched DVDs on my laptop (a trick we've been doing since Italy in 2004 - always bring a laptop and a selection of kiddie DVDs). Sam mostly slept a bit later, but sometimes Sofia ran in to wake him up before I could stop her. I tried to let David sleep, since he generally falls asleep way later than I do. One morning, when he took the bike ride with Sam, I actually fell asleep on the porch swing while the two little ones watched a movie.

Sunday morning we walked up to the Orrs Island Fire House, where they were having an Auction and junk sale. It was very interesting. Orrs Island was very...white. Very goyishe. Very Maine-typical. David did a bit of reading on the history of the island - turns out there had been a large KKK presence at one point. OY!

But everyone was friendly enough. Our kids, of course, are wicked-cute! And I could not tell if many people noticed Sofia's extra chromosome. Once, in Freeport, I rather surprised a lady in a shoe store. She'd asked how old Sofia was, because her daughter was the same age but really tall. I explained that the growth curve with Down syndrome is much slower, and she seemed really surprised, as if she hadn't even noticed. It was so interesting (especially compared to my pre-vacation post about my mother). Throughout the week, I don't think I ever saw another person with DS, and only a handful of people with other noticeable differences.

Most afternoons, the boys went to the cove to "hunt" for hermit crabs and snails, and they usually came back with a couple of buckets full. And they left said buckets on the glass table on the porch, which meant that each evening, I was treated to a concert of snails dropping overboard as they climbed out of their buckets. The best thing was that, on each of these excursions to the cove (David usually went with them; I went once, but otherwise stayed home with Sofia), the boys got along fantastically well. It was great to see. This was exactly what I'd wanted from a Family Vacation.

We went up to Bath one day and explored the shops there, and spent another day (and a lot of money) in Freeport. I got a pair of knee-high leather fringed boots; I need some opinions from my "peeps" because I think I may look too silly in them, but I do like them. David got several pairs of shoes this week, including hiking boots which he then returned a few days later. (And an annoying note: although L.L.Bean guarantees their products, and David was told by the sales clerk that he could try out the boots on a hike, it turns out that, since there was then dirt on the boots, they just throw them away! They have no way to clean them up and donate them! It's horrible.)

I exchanged Micah's old broken backpack for a new one, but then in the outlet store we actually found another kid's backpack that had MICAH on it! He didn't like it as much, so he wants it to be his back-up bag - it was cheap enough that David said ok.

We also went to the Topsham Fair one morning. The kids fed the goats and bunnies, and the boys watched Ox Judging while Sofia and I wandered. When we stopped for a snack, we ended up having a great conversation with another mom - I noticed that her younger child had Coclear Implants. I asked, to be sure, and then explained to Sammy what they were - the mom was VERY impressed with my explanation. And we got onto a whole discussion about Sign Language, and Signing Times (I told her how our friend R got a visit from Rachel and Alex and Leah and Hopkins as part of his Make-a-Wish treat). And while we were talking, an older gentleman sat down with us and his young son, who he'd adopted in Cambodia, and he also had a lot of experience with sign language because he'd worked in an orphanage there! Very cool.

I'm drawing a blank on a couple of days, but we did relax a lot, and I actually finished one whoel book and started another. Thursday we went to Portland, wandered a bit, and wnet on a Windjammer Cruise for a few (not-so-windy) hours in the bay. It was a nice day, and we bought a few nifty things (I got a silk Indian skirt for $10).

We also took a hike, on Friday morning (which was the hottest day yet, but it was cool enough in the woods by the water). The boys loved it, but Sofia kept needing to be carried, so my hips were aching by the time we were done. We wandered around Brunswick some more (found a whole Gluten-Free bakery and market!) and had lunch there before going back ot the cottage to relax and pack.

Got out by 9am Saturday, stopped in Freeport to return David's boots, and then went to Ogonquit, where my friend J has a cottage. Her daughters are both friends with my boys (Sam and T were born 5 days apart, and we have photos of them together since they were very little babies), and T had just returned from 8 weeks at camp. We spent the day on the beach with them (and with another family we know from our shul, who also have a cottage there). The kids all had a blast, but watching Sofia on the beach is EXHAUSTING. She loves loves loves the water, and did not care how blue and shivery she was.

We stopped in Kittery to get some dinner (and Sofia promptly dumped half a bowl of soup on the bench), and got home by aout 8:30 pm. Today, we did manage to go out for breakfast and then a quick grocery run, but then we stayed home all day. I got a migraine, so I napped for a few hours, and I've spent most of the late afternoon and evening trying to post my photos. Stay tuned - the pages still have not published correctly. ARGH!

All three kids will be home this week, but I intend to spend a lot of time at the pool. David is going to Texas for a few days. Next week, Sammy goes to sleep-away camp for four days/three nights, so we also have to get him ready now. And then the boys start school on the 2nd of September!

Photo pages just failed to publish again. Keep checking back...

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Perceptions

We met my parents in Sturbridge yesterday, to retrieve Micah. It was a very interesting dinner.

We meet, of course, at a Pub-type restaurant. My parents have been on the South Beach Diet for the past three years. And since they do eat non-kosher meats, and shellfish, out of the house, they find plenty of plain food at places like this.

My family, on the other hand, does not. The kid's menu was fine - although both boys had Fish & Chips, there was also pizza, pasta, mac&cheese, and grilled cheese that they could choose from. (We do not eat meat, non-kosher meat, out of the house.)

But for me, David and Sofia, the choices were extremely limited, and ultimately not what we would have chosen anywhere else. I appreciate a tasty Fish&Chips fish, and this particular restaurant (Picadilly Pub, a MA chain) does a very nice job at it, but it's a very heavy meal, which I am not used to. I would have prefered a piece of grilled or broiled fish. No such luck - the closed they had was a baked haddock, smothered in bread crumbs and butter.

David at least will eat shellfish (also not kosher) out of the house, so he could get the seafood casserole, but it too was heavier than we are used to. And for Sofia, the choices were practically non-existent. I settled on a cup of corn chowder, which they were all out of, so it was tomato-rice soup, and then she munched on David's carrots dipped in mashed potato.

Ok, so that was the food, in itself a stressful thing. Oh, and the fact that, since my parents are South Beach fanatics, my mother also watches every mouthful I take. Or at least I think she does.

See, my mother has something called Dystonia, a neurological movement disorder, and Blepharospasm, which makes her eyes droop. So she always has a LOOK about her of watching, judging, not approving. And since she generally tells me what she's thinking, I also know that most of what I imagine she is thinking is fairly accurate.

So first, the Boys. They were actually very glad to see each other after several days' absence, but that meant Sam got a little wild and they tried to wrestle while we were waiting for a table. Micah had spent the week in a bit of a MOOD, very dark-cloud-over-his-head grumpy, so getting scolded by first Grandma, then Grandpa, then Daddy did not make him happy. And he wanted to see me, but Sofia became very clingy, so then they got in a fight, too. David had to peel Sofia off me, and I took Micah aside for a cuddle.

Ok. Then we get to our table. The boys sit next to each other, so it's Sam-Micah-me-Sofia all along the bench seat, then at the corner next to Sofia is David (blocking her exit!). Then my parents in chairs across from us - of course my mother across from me.

The boys continue to be a little rowdy during dinner. It's a loud restaurant anyway, and there was some sort of motorcycle convention going on, and it was a Friday evening and it was packed. But they were still louder than acceptable, especially for my parents. So there was much disappoving looks and scolding on that end of the table.

In the other corner, Miss Sofia was being difficult. She had taken a long nap, but she's been very ornery all week, and her tummy hurt, so she didn't want to try the food at first. And since the soup was hot, she got a bit frightened of it, so she needed to be cajoled and fed.

Which brings me to Perceptions. As a part of me floated back and observed the three-ring-circus that my family was causing, I thought about the vehement arguments my mother had presented to us back when we first got the amnio results about Sofia.

How can you do this to the boys? What kind of life will that be? You won't be able to give the boys any attention. You will be saddled with this all your life.

(Ugh, it's still raw, nearly 5 years later).

And while since then, she has NOT uttered these arguments again, they are usually very much in my mind when I see her watching Sofia. Last year, my parents had watched the kids while David and I were in Tahiti. When we got home, we were subjected to a lecture about how difficult it was to deal with our three-year-old. Not because she was three. "No, it's because of the Way She Is". "It's because of her Condition."

And since my parents do not see Sofia every day (they live 2 hours away from us), they see her not as my friends and our community do, as a regular little girl which a strong personality and a lot of talents, but rather as different. She doesn't Talk like a Normal child. She doesn't do things like a Normal child.

To be fair, they don't usually say any of this. But with my mother's stiff facial features and piercing stare, I can still hear it.

So here we are, in a Public Place (my parents are always very aware of appearances around people. One of the phrases that still makes my sister and I shudder is "I want to talk to you - Away From The People".). My boys are not on their best behavior. My daughter is being difficult. I am both defensive, and glad to have my children around me. David is trying to maintain a polite manner and not offend my mother any more (because that would cause another private lecture for me later, which would make me even crazier).

And Sofia requires a lot of attention. She does not sit still like other little girls (I was always jealous of people with girls; they sit so nicely compared to boys! And my boys ARE very well behaved, usually). Sofia needed cajoling to eat, needed to be fed her soup because it was too hot (and messy, but that's another story). Ate odd foods. Required extra attention.

And all the old arguments were VERY LOUD in my head.

Your boys need your attention. They are not behaving well. But you are stuck with this child. Look at her, she needs both parents to help her. When will she talk? Why can't she feed herself? Just get her some food, for goodness sake. This whole Allergy Thing is crazy.

(Ok, the allergy problem is a whole other post - my mother simply cannot understand it! "How can he be allergic to it if he doesn't eat it?").

She doesn't say this stuff...out loud. And honestly, I don't know how much of it she still even thinks. But it all comes to ME when we are together. And that's horrible. The only time I ever have to question my daughter's worth is around my family. This is NOT FAIR. To anyone. I don't know what everyone thinks. And would it be different if we lived closer and saw them more often? (Well, yes, because I would have had a nervous breakdown and been locked up long ago...)

It's hard enough to get the criticisms about Micah. Micah is not like Sam, not like my nieces. Micah is a little brother - which means he knows how to poke and prob and annoy to make sure he gets his place in the sun. He is critical. He is unsatisfied. He is annoyed. He glowers. He glares. He grumps.

My parents love having Sam visit. They spoil him rotten - easy to do, since Sam WANTS things. They have fun with him, and he is easy because he loves being the only child, and he also loves hanging with his cousins, the twins, who are the same age (six weeks older than him).

But Micah is not as appreciative. Not as easy to please. It's harder to deed him because of all these silly allergies.

And they take all of Sam's complaints about Micah at face value, but Micah does not bother telling his side of the story. So Micah gets built up as this monster-child, while Sam is Perfect.

And I know darn well that's not the case!

And on top of all this, I have a daughter who is Different. Who needs more of my attention. Who doesn't talk.

Why don't my kids Behave? Why don't they sit like perfect little angels? According to my mother last night, it's about Expectations. I need to be firmer. I need to punish more, scold more, make their lives more miserable.

I refuse. My children are actually VERY well behaved. But when they see my parents, the circumstances are different. They want attention, from each other AND from the grownups. My parents generally eat later than we usually do, which means they are hungry - and Micah especially does not deal well with hunger. It brings out the little growly bear in him.

None of this is Fair. And it's not a normal everyday occurrence. It's just stressful. And I really don't like having to even mentally "prove" Sofia's worth. I adore my daughter (AND my sons), and wouldn't trade them for anything.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Extra Oxygen

Well, Micah has been at my parents' house since Tuesday, and there is just that much more oxygen in the house. Sigh. Why is it always easier when one of the boys is away? I miss them - and I dread the lectures from my mother about their behavior. This morning on the phone, she had quite a bit to say about Micah's behavior when they went to Lake Compounce Amusement Park yesterday with the twins. Micah is just a classic "little brother", and bugs and begs and annoys. When he's the Only Child, he's perfect.

Sam has been fairly happy without him, too, except for yesterday afternoon, when I refused to buy him another Webkinz, and he grouched about how Micah was probably getting all sorts of stuff from Pop & Grandma. I had to remind him of all the things he has gotten this summer - including a digital camera and a laptop! Didn't help.

David and I got to go out as grownups last night, to a JFS/MW fundraiser at Pinz, a bowling place. Fun.

Sofia is a little fishy, jumping into the pool as soon as I get the bubble on her, and swimming as fast as her little legs can paddle. She still drinks quite a bit of pool water, but that does not seem to bother her.

I need ot pack - we leave tomorrow for Maine! Yikes!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Tired but Happy

I should be taking a nap right now, on this grey and lazy afternoon. But instead, here I am at the computer, typing away.

So many little things, nothing major.

Friday night, D&E and the girls here for dinner. Yummy dairy Shabbos - fish, corn bread, challah, tortellini and pesto. And fruit and oven smores for desert.

Yesterday, my Torah reading went fairly well. I was reading the 4th Aliyah, which is a sort of recap of the 10 Commandments. It is traditional to use a different set of trope (cantillation) marks for public readings, making two very long paragraphs (one for the first & second, and one for the 5th) and several very short (two word) sentences. It's very confusing, because usually the trope marks make sense to help the reader know where you are. But with so much repetion of trope, it was really tough! But I did it.

But that's not what I will remember about yesterday. I will instead dwell happily on the fact that Sammy led the Ashrei all by himself! I was so incredibly proud of him!

David, unfortunately, missed all of services (showed up for lunch, 'tho!).

After services, we all came home, changed, loaded up the car, and drove down to Providence and took a lovely bike ride on the rail trail there. It goes right along the water, and was really nice (although a lot of work for me, with Sofia in her seat on my bike!).

Got home nearly 7pm, Sofia already asleep for the evening. David took off to go visit a college chum who was visiting other college friends, and he didn't get back until well after midnight. I got to watch a movie with the boys, and fall asleep fairly early.

This morning, we had a lovely brunch at B&E's house in Holden. E had to leave for a memorial service, but we hung out with B and their son until after 2pm. It was nice.

So nap time now. Sharon from http://sheardscene.blogspot.com/, welcome to my bloglist, and yes, by all means, keep me on yours! We intend to visit New Zealand one day, so look out ;)


Oh! And I finally figured out our vacation plans. Next Saturday, we head to Orrs Island, ME, to a little cottage on the cove. Should be lovely. YEAH!