Big Week, Big Day

In less than 24 hours, we have:

• said goodbye to Gommie, who returned to Texas today;
• prepped for Sis's birthday slumber party;
• begun to celebrate Mama's birthday;
• gone to horse camp;
• spent almost 3 hours at hospice;
• prepped for Bud getting his braces tomorrow;
• hosted a slumber party;
• taken Mama for a special dinner (well, Bud did; I chaperoned the slumber party);
• stayed up way too late . . . and they are still going strong downstairs!

That doesn't include everything in the last week since Gommie arrived on Wednesday.  There have been:

• kung fu practice
• horseback riding
• birthday dinner at the sushi place
• Scrabble
• 5-second rule
• Zentangle
• poi-ball lessons
• piano lesson
• Pinterest lesson
• introduction to the K-pop band BTS
• bad "dad" jokes
• Bud's special lasagna dinner with Eton Mess for dessert
• and VERMONT!!

Yep, we lucked out and got a place to stay in VT for the weekend. So we:

• stopped at the VT visitor's center and managed to get a few cupcakes from the concessions people as they were packing up;
• shopped at the Vermont Country Store for snacks for the weekend and other little trinkets (including some great jammies for Gommie and me);
• had dinner at MacLaomanin's pub, with Scotch eggs, crab cakes, mince and tatties with skirlie, cock a leekie soup, auld reekie stew, bangers and mash, and HAGGIS!  Yep, Bud really likes haggis.  Plus sticky toffee pudding;
• spent the evening outside while Bud practiced his LED poi-balls outside while fireflies twinkled in the trees around us.  We also identified constellations.   Later, Mama and I sat out alone and heard a Great Horned Owl and saw a shooting star right through the Big Dipper.
• While Mama and I were sitting outside having some quite alone time, we were startled and actually quite frightened by a close-up, loud snort.  This was not a raccoon or small animal, nor a dog or coyote or wolf.  I swear it sounded big and scary.  I think it was a bear!  I jumped up and headed inside, forgetting to pull Mama in with me.  She followed pretty quickly and we both quickly shut the door, no dillydallying or discussion.  As we looked out into the dark, I heard the loud snorty snuffle again.  AGGGHHH.  But we couldn't see it.  I began to close windows a bit more, especially because the kitchen where all our VT Country Store food was accessible on ground level!  I even started closing some of the windows in the other rooms.  I was that startled.  It was scary.  I'm only sorry we never saw it.  Whoa, bear!  (The next day, the other three had a a good laugh at us.)
• breakfasted at the Country Girl Diner, in an old 1944 chrome diner, where we had corned beef hash, vegetable omelets, and pancakes--definitely worth the (relatively short) wait;
• tootled around southeastern VT both days, focusing on Hildene (Robert Todd Lincoln's estate, with gorgeous historic peonies in a formal French garden surrounded by VT mountains, a huge player pipe organ, a goat farm, and a restored luxurious Pullman palace car, because that Lincoln made his money on the railroads) and covered bridges (we saw 6 in total, I believe:  West Arlington, Silk Road, Paper Mill, Worrall, Bartonsville, and Hall.)  I loved crossing each bridge and taking lots of photos (which I'll share soon.)  As much as the red bridges are iconic, I think I also liked the weathered natural bridges equally as well.  I was glad to see the Bartonsville bridge had been restored after the original was swept down river by Hurricane Irene.  We also visited the Rockingham Meeting House, from the mid-18th-century (which was open and staffed by a lovely docent) and both the old cemetery there and in Arlington.  I liked the headstones, with the severe angels' heads of the earlier days replaced by urns and willows later.  
• lunched at an Italian deli in Manchester with great sandwiches, pastries, gelato, and groceries, plus a nice woman at the register who is also in a two-mom family and has 3 kids!
• got rained on;
• had pizza for dinner while we all kinda did our own thing;
• had breakfast at Country Girl again!
• did some of the sightseeing I listed above;
• relaxed and left late, grabbing great soups, chili, coconut cake with citrus curd, and White Pyne tea from the Steaming Chili Bowl food truck.  
• Whew!

Ah, it's almost 2 a.m. and it's starting to quieten down.  Maybe I'll get some sleep after all.

Milestone

The kiddos are twelve.  12!  As Bud put it, there are only 364 days until they're teenagers.

Mercy.

Our celebrations have been relatively constant but also low key.  We spent last weekend opening presents, eating out, and having fun (with videogames, a new puzzle, movies.)  We also went on Sunday to welcome my brother-in-law Goo to Connecticut.  Yep, he's a new Nutmegger!  He moved into a condo not far from the hospital in which he'll be working.  Very exciting.  And nice to have him so close.  Only downside:  his AC promptly quit and so he spent two nights here as the landlord and the HVAC guys got it fixed.  It was so hot and muggy this week--until a high of 65 on Friday, that is!--that AC was a must (I know, I know, first-world problem.)  So, his studying for his licensure exams fell behind but we enjoyed seeing him.

Sis was with her beloved horses all week, helping out with camp.  Yep, this year she was a helper, not a camper.  And she loved it.  She spent about 4 hours each day, more on her lesson and lease days, with her horses and her riding buddies.  She loves everything about the stable, even the manure.  See, it's a tradition at her farm to throw the birthday girl into the stable's manure pile.  Sis was tickled pink and barely resisted as the bigger girls picked her up.  Thankfully, they threw her into the hay-part of the pile, but she did manage to muck up her hands and boots getting up.  We laughed and laughed all the way home.  "Mom, I just can't stop smiling," she said.  It's fun to be a part of things, even if it's in the manure pile.  And being thrown in meant she belonged.  We laughed about it for a few days.

That night, we went to a summer picnic and told the story, showing the pictures, to everyone we knew.  Happy birthdays all around.  At the party we had a lot of great food to eat--lobster rolls, pulled pork, barbecue chicken, giant turkey leg, sliders, kettle corn, and great Cherry Coke floats.  I also tried a Long Island Iced Tea--I'd never had one--mercy, those taste like tea!  But with vodka, tequila, triple sec, and rum (plus cola and lemon juice), those could also mess you up.  Sis climbed a rock wall, twice, beautifully and I got a hair tattoo (metallic flowers in a row.)  Sis and I also rode on the ferris wheel, which swayed more than I remembered.  I had never been on a small, portable carnival wheel, only ones at amuseument parks.  Sitll it was a few stories high and a bit nerve-wracking.  Sis, who had never been on one, had a good time.

While Sis was at horse camp this week, Bud and I mainly played games together and went for nice lunches.  On Friday, we went to see Spiderman: Homecoming, which I greatly enjoyed.  He and I laughed aloud quite a bit.  I even gasped, apparently loudly, when they dropped the Lego Death Star.  Bud, I think, was embarrassed a bit and later told me people turned to look at me!  Ah, well, I'd gasp if we ever dropped the hard-to-make Lego Death Star!  Anyway, I think it was a nice coming-of-age story.  Highly recommend.

And tonight is Sis's slumber party.  There are three other girls here for macaroni and cheese, cake and ice cream, lots of snacks, and who knows what else tonight.  Mama and Bud have gone out to dinner and then store-hopping.  They'll be back later tonight for a Splattoon videogame marathon.  I'm the mom in charge of the sleepover, so I'm cooking and keeping an ear on things.  It's surprisingly quiet right now.

Perhaps I should go . . . .

Bud's Birthday

We had Bud's birthday party last night--at the local rope course!  Luckily, the rain went both north and south of us (unlike the great storm the night before that dropped 4.75" on us.)  The park wasn't crowded, probably because of the threat of rain, and so Bud and his friends got four rounds on the course (instead of the usual three.)  Several had never done a rope course before and were nervous to start, but they all had a great time.  Bud was grinning ear to ear the whole time.  They finally stopped around 8 pm and had lemonade, pizza, and homemade Victoria Sponge Cake (his request) amid all the twinkle lights, chatting and laughing between bites.  A very happy 11th birthday party!

(No) Slumber Party

Tonight, Sis is celebrating her 11th birthday with some friends.  It's her first solo birthday party, meaning without Bud.  Bud's taking it a little bit hard to be left out, especially because they share so many friends.  So, he's out to a nice dinner, movie, and hotel with a big pool with Mama; he'll have his own birthday party in a few weeks . . . and he's not inviting her.

Sigh.

There's a lot of fun going on here tonight, though.  It's Sis's first time to host a sleepover like this, with more than one friend, and a party at home to boot (almost all the other parties have been out and about.)  Fried chicken and homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner, with some corn.  Then make-your-own jar cakes with yellow cake, brownies, fudge frosting, white frosting, jam, sprinkles, M&Ms, and whipped cream.  These went in the fridge while they played outside; then they came inside to decorate wooden letters with markers.  Sis also opened some nice gifts--books and arts and crafts and such.  Then they ate cake (after Sis blew out some candles!) and are now singing and dancing and talking downstairs.

Later, they might do henna and then watch a film (they were all at odds over which film.)

A few of the girls had never been here before, so Sis gave them a quick tour (mainly to locate the bathrooms and their lights, which are tricky.)  One of them said our house was so friendly, which is about the nicest compliment I've ever had about our home.  I only had a few rules--stay out of Bud's room, ask before heading outside, watch for the cats so they don't go outside--and said they could stay up as late as they'd like.  I don't imagine they'll get much sleep.  I'm not sure I will, either.  All in the name of great fun and wonderful memories.

As I'm not needed for now (they'll want some help with henna, I imagine) and I want to give them some space, I'm lying down and watching old episodes of "Downton Abbey."  And thinking of some of my own slumber parties (once, in a tent in the backyard--in December!--we ate GORP and cooked our meals on the grill, including blueberry pancakes.)  Such fun.

Happy birthday, Sis!

Birthday Weekend

It was a wonderful birthday weekend, made special by family and friends.  Thanks to Gommie, Aunt Banana, and Lambeth for calling with birthday wishes.  

Friday:
I had a little holiday coffee Friday morning, inviting many friends over for treats.  I don't like to be all alone around my birthday and have long hosted my own little get togethers.   Only a few friends could make it, but we had a jolly time together, setting the spirit for the whole weekend.

That evening was the annual big holiday party.  Mmm, mmm good:  

• Steak, green beans, baked potato, slab bacon, with Peter Luger sauce 
• chicken tikka 
• spinach dal 
• chicken taco 
• corn and mushroom taco 
•  Italian sausage pasta 
• spinach pizza 
• prosciutto, mint, and mozzarella pizza
• pesto orchiette
• Turkey and stuffing bread 
• porchetta slider
• cheese burger
• Smoked tofu noodles
• chicken sausage and pancake corn dogs 
• scrambled eggs with tater tots 
• s'more doughnut
•  cappuccino doughnut
• homemade Twinkie 
• homemade Ho Ho
• homemade chocolate cream Ho Hos
• Captain Crunch marshmallow treat
• Fruit Loop marshmallow treat
• homemade malomar bar
• Concord grape pop tart
• alcoholic creamsicle drink
• alcoholic holiday julep drink

Saturday:

We awoke early to head to Boston where we would see the exhibition, Class Distinctions:  Art in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer, at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.  I have always loved Dutch 17th-century painting and even minored in it as part of my graduate school studies, taking classes even with Simon Schama (who broke his leg during our semester!)   Genre paintings are my favorite and so knew there would be a lot to like in this show.

We got there around 11 a.m., and went straight to the exhibition.  It was crowded, as expected, but not so much as to be unenjoyable.  We talked to the kids about the 17th century, the rise of the middle class, Dutch trade and merchants, conventions of landscape painting (the brown-green-blue progression) and portraiture (pendants, status markers), and practiced "reading" what was happening in the various genre paintings.  There were many wonderful paintings--not only Vermeer and Rembrandt, but by Hals, Ter Borch, de Hooch, Steen, Maes, Metsu, van Ruysdael, etc.  The names meant little to the kids, but they liked some of the paintings.  Mama and I felt like we were walking through an art history text!  We had a midday snack before looking at some of the 20th century works by Pollock and Picasso at Sis's request and then browsing the bookstore.  Had to get the heavy art catalog!  

Then it was off to our second stop:  early dinner at the Publick House, where we'd eaten the before our Girl Scout overnight at Old Sturbridge Village in March (four days before my surgery.)  Again we sat by the huge and lovely fireplace, unlit in our remarkably unseasonably-warm December weather.  I had a full turkey dinner plate with butternut squash soup and Indian pudding; Mama and Bud had lobster pie and clam chowder and raspberry tart, while Sis had chicken pot pie with apple pie.  It was a lovely meal sitting in the old space cheerfully decorated for Christmas, setting the mood for our next outing.

Yep, Candlelight at Old Sturbridge Village!  We hadn't been since 2012, having been three years in a row, so it seemed new and unfamiliar to the kiddos.  But for Mama and I, it was much the same;  tastings of cider, gingerbread, plum pudding, roasted chestnuts; demonstrations of tinsel making (but we never found the cornucopia making); riding the horse-drawn carriage; and watching the roaring bonfire (and each practicing taking photos.)  I liked the carol-singalong, which was a first for us this year.  Sis and Bud loved watching the potter at work, making cups and candleholders out of lumps of clay.  The potter had a wonderful kinda grumpy rapport with all the kids standing around--saying that he wasn't an artist and only made things to be useful not beautiful, that no farmer wanted to find clay, that he would have rather been a sailor, and so forth.  All the while his fingers pressed and worked the slippery stuff.  We each got to select a free clay ornament:  teapot, bunny, goose, and heart.   

We stayed much longer than we expected, almost closing the place at 9 pm, which means we got home very late.

Sunday:  

We were up early for church; I was the assistant RE teacher.  After that, we had a seafood lunch and . . . Mama and I slept for 3+ hours while the kids played!  We didn't mean to nap the day away.   Later, we finished the day with dinner and the original Miracle on 34th Street.  

Catching Up

Advent
For whatever reason, we have fallen behind in our daily Advent Activities.  I don't know if it's because we are distracted by and focused on the new cats (more on that in a bit), or because we have lots of activities--cookie decorating with GS troop at senior center, piano performance at nursing home, Piano Guys concert, various office parties, two friends' birthday parties, birthday lunch at German restaurant with visit to British grocery store, our annual cookie decorating party, and other things, plus are regularly scheduled activities.

Cats
We've had first contact!  We couldn't tempt the new boys upstairs after we locked up our original cats last night, so we let our cats visit them in the basement.  We were ready with treats, which worked very well--Albus and Hermione approached Mojito, but nothing happened as they all munched away. Later, Hermione and Mojito hissed a bit at each other, but separated.  Mojito even went to eat while Hermione was still hanging around.  We ended it soon after, since it had been pretty promising.  And no one seemed the worse for the wear last night or this morning--no hiding, no litterbox accidents, no obvious stress.  We'll try again.  We realize the basement isn't the best place for them to live, but under the circumstances, Mojito (Mojo) and Patron (Tabby or Petro) are pretty lucky.  And it is temporary.

Colonial Lecture
I gave that lecture to a local AAUW (American Association of University Women) chapter last weekend.  And it went really well!  My light beige body sock arrived the day before so that I didn't feel quite so exposed in my chemise.  'Cos I started out in nothing more than my shift, which is a very flimsy nightgown (and would've been used as such), and stockings.  I then tied on garters, slipped on my leather Merrills (the most obvious anachronistic bit I have--reproduction colonial shoes are too expensive for my needs), and kept going.  A volunteer helped me lace up my stays/corset, skipping every other hole to make it go faster--she used my spiral bobbin to help thread it (the spirals help twist the bobbin through.)  Then pockets, petticoats, bodice, cap.  They couldn't believe how many clothes I had on--are you hot?  can you breathe?  can you bend?  I'm pretty comfortable in my colonial clothes, even the corset, which is a nice brace for my back.  I spoke a bit about the development of the corset as a foundation for heavy petticoats and as a way to achieve the straight silhouette they desired (their clothes were much more fitted than now, tight, and so you really get these amazing lines, esp if you have wide skirts, a bum roll or panniers, an early side hoop.)  Since it's all cotton--the other main anachronism, for it would've been mainly wool, linen, or a combo linsy-woolsey here--I don't get as hot as I could (though I get warm faster than usual), and, of course, now the historic house has AC and heat; it would've been so much colder in the 18th century and you would've needed the wool, quilted petticoats, and numerous layers.  The talk was short, only about 20 minutes, and I could've covered a lot more.  I would definitely do it again, longer and more detailed. And when I changed back into my civvies, I just felt ordinary again.  I like the way I feel, physically (the corset, the change in how I move--sit, walk, even gesture) and mentally (i.e. thinking about the past, getting a different perspective.)  Regular clothes just don't do that for me (mind you, if I wore colonial clothes more often, I probably wouldn't feel that way anymore, either.)

Birthday Celebrations
Mama set up this great present for me--a Lyve app that allows me to manipulate all the digital photos we have in chronological order, updates any of our new photos, let's me share them.  So, I can look back on all the photos we've taken on my birthday through the years.  Or, look at all the photos in a month or year.  And she bought this digital frame that scrolls through them.  Right now, there are pictures of us at Mystic Seaport going past.

Mama went into work late so we could all have breakfast together--egg sandwiches she fetched from the deli!--and treats (yummy pastries from a special bakery she'd snuck home.)  Sis had hung up a birthday sign telling me I was awesome.  Feeling lots of love from my family today.

And family and friends, far and wide.  Gommie, Aunt Banana, and Lambeth and Mrs. Lambeth have called--it definitely sets the day apart and makes me feel special.  And several of my local friends came over for coffee and cake this morning, bringing treats to share (and some gifts, though I had said not to, which was sweet and appreciated.)  We chatted for two hours, having not gotten together in awhile.  I never get to talk to everyone as much as I'd like, but they're all interesting and seemed to enjoy getting to know each other (there are definitely different spheres, like a Venn Diagram of my life, and they crossed over today.)  I even played a few songs on the piano to show off my new skills!

Tonight, Mama and I are going to a big holiday party and tomorrow we're meeting up with my in-laws to do holiday things.  And Sunday, the kids have another piano performance.  So, all in all, a very special birthday.

Summer Fun: Birthday Bash

We've had birthday parties (by year):

1.  in the backyard with everyone we knew to thank them for helping us;
2. again in the backyard, this time with bubbles (described in retrospect in third paragraph);
3. at the nature center with animal time, craft time, and playground time;
4. at the zoo, with animals and a craft;
5. at the Aquarium, with a tour and a craft;
6. at the church hall, for Legopalooza;
7. at the invention museum, with a hands-on woodworking project;
8. at the dance hall, for a pop music dance party;
9. and now, at the ice skating rink.

Which means I'm pretty experienced with the "away" party.  I thought I had already written a post about hosting a take-away party, or whatever they're called (I remember there was a name for them), but I never posted it, can't find it, or didn't actually write it.

Still, a few suggestions:

• have a pad of paper to record names and phone numbers of parents who are not staying on site;
• don't forget matches and candles, very few places have them available;
• also remember bowls you might need to serve snacks;
• bring a Sharpie to label the kids' drinking cups;
• I always try to have enough food for seconds and for parents who stay (today, we barely had enough cupcakes for the kids);
• cupcakes travel and serve more easily than sheet cake;
• bring 1-2 garbage bags to carry the presents away;
• money for a tip for the assistant (I aim for 15-20% of the fee);

Today's birthday party at the skating rink was great.  The kids woke up this morning so excited and grew more so when Goo arrived.  They had their skating lesson first--it was Bud's first official lesson--and then helped us set up for the party.  The set-up was pretty minimal--bowls of potato chips, lemonade and water, ice, cups, napkins--and then they began welcoming friends, both from school and from kung fu.  

Most of the kids could skate and Sis helped those who couldn't (with more experience than Bud, she's the better helper.)  We had talked to them about how to be a host/hostess--welcome everyone and explain any details, talk to everyone, buddy up with those who are alone, help serve food and drink, thank them when you say goodbye.  They did a great job and the two groups of kids, strangers to each other, got along well.  

They skated almost 2 hours, with barely a break for pizza; after skating, we sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cupcakes--those wonderful "TARDIS in the Time Vortex" cupcakes that only a couple of people understood.  As the Zamboni cleaned up after public skate, we said goodbye to everyone and cleaned up.

And now, after opening all the wonderful presents from generous friends at home, the kids are off to the movies with Mama and Goo, after a big sushi dinner.  I'm home alone, resting and rejoicing . . . and writing it all here.

Birthday Month

After almost a month of celebrating, the kids have finally finished their birthdays!  I might actually be relieved.  While my paternal relatives always applaud the stretching out of celebrations, it was almost out of control (in a good way.)  But, I'm not sure I can do what Shelley of Little Chickadees does, and stop the big celebrations when they turn 10, having only individual sleepovers or something with one friend.  Which tells me something about myself . . . .

It started way back before school was out, with a disco dance party with a luau theme and even a Tiki pole.  "Nikki Minaj" and "Psy" danced their hearts out with their friends to all their favorite Taylor Swift and Pink and Katy Perry songs and played various games such as Coke and Pepsi, balloon race, limbo, and this 1-2-3-4 cluster game.  They ate pizza and homemade chocolate-frosted vanilla cupcakes, with crushed vanilla wafers for sand under mini-umbrella decorations, and danced some more.  Once home, they opened lots of presents (no one up here seems to open presents at parties--I've never seen it done.)  Since then, we've written half the thank-you notes and I have since lost the list and the notecards!

Then one Saturday, Mama and the kids headed to NYC to celebrate all the summer birthdays, of which there are four, with Ma and Gong and Goo.  They had dim sum, ice cream from the truck, and special Japanese pastries, I believe.

We gave them each an early birthday present.  Bud got the first three episodes of Star Wars, which we promptly watched.  His favorite is #2; he really disliked Order 66 in #3.  Sis enjoyed them, too, and they've both been playing Jedi non-stop since.  Sis received two more American Girl dolls--the original Felicity and Elizabeth--which a teenager daughter of a colleague of Mama's was letting go of.  Sis has now named that Felicity "Martha" instead, because she had named her Make Your Own doll "Felicity" first.  Confused?  No worries.  We gave her the dolls early (and therefore Bud the DVDs) because Gommie was taking Sis to the American Girl doll store in Houston for a birthday treat and we knew she'd want to get their ears pierced. So we hauled all the dolls to Texas and she and Gommie had fun playing with them.

Then, as I mentioned in my Texas post, Gommie threw an impromptu party for them and invited all the aunts, uncles, and cousins for cake and ice cream  (why is it that no one up here every pairs cake with ice cream at parties?  It's the best!)  If I count correctly, there were 17 adults and 12 youngsters, almost all relatives (the kids were no longer overwhelmed by this, even if Mama will always be.)  There were cards, homemade ice cream (along with lots of Blue Bell), confetti poppers, kites, and water balloons, so of course they had a water balloon fight.

Later that afternoon, Great Aunt Sis and Uncle W had presents for the kids when we visited them--wonderful books, as always--as well as cheesecake and ice cream, fruit and cheese.  We also gave Aunt Sis, another summer birthday, a Tudor Rose suncatcher from the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition to put in her window since she spends so much time in bed.

On their real birthday earlier this week, Mama and I played "birthday fairy" and decorated the house with streamers and Star Wars birthday banners and left the last couple of wrapped presents on the couch with a clear warning "not to open without Moms!"  We could hear them crowing about it all at 6:40 the next morning!  More Legos and the complete Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? dvd set. And tickets for all of us to see The Lion King on Broadway (their first real Broadway show!) later this summer!  (I think this excites us more than them, even having seen it twice already ourselves.  But they'll love it and we've long dreamed of taking them.)  Needless to say, the Legos were done and the first disc of Carmen Sandiego watched before the day was out.  We made Rice Krispie treats as part of the fun.  Later, we went up to a little pool birthday party for them at babysitter M and Miss K's house in the afternoon, which was kind of them.  Dinner was Italian.

And finally, last night, original Beloved Babysitter M came over, having returned from a week in London and Paris (about which I was very interested and the kids not so much!)  She generously brought presents, the best being walkie-talkies which they've used non-stop since then, especially for playing a modified chase game outside.  And Babysitter--about whom it is as hard to believe she is 21 as they are 8!  She's been with us for almost 8 years!--then played their all-time favorite games of "Escape Zoo" and "Tickle Monster," just like they did years ago.  So, even if they are 8, it's great to see that some things just don't change and they still are, while much closer to 10 than 5 in attitude and activities, pretty much kids.

Happy Birthday, Sis and Bud!