Purim

This past week the girls celebrated Purim at preschool. You can learn about Purim by clicking this link here.

It's a really fun holiday and Hannah and Lizzie love any opportunity to be a princess (or in this case Queen Esther) so here they are with the rest of their class.One of the most fun things about Purim is the making (and eating!) of Hamentaschen, these little triangular cookies. I volunteered to help out with the making of the Hamentaschen, as did Noah's mom (the guy holding the light sabre).

Here the kids are making (and eating!) the Hamentaschen! I can tell you they were GOOD -- but really anything that has M&Ms and/or raspberry jam in the middle can't be bad!

Home Sweet (Cold) Home

When we left Savannah we weren't entirely sure how long we'd be driving. First we had to stop in the town of Rincon, Georgia because I had to do a little work there. And then we knew we were going to try and stop again, somewhere again in North Carolina because I had to do some work there, too.

We left Rincon at around 11 p.m. and got to Fayetteville, NC at around 4 (after a lunch break at the worst Chik Fil A in the nation -- it was a WALK UP or drive up with no inside seating and a bathroom that was rough even by my very loose and low standards. We walked up and were treated to sitting outside breathing in everyone's exhaust fumes while we ate our lunch which was tasty, but not tasty enough to make us forget the gross bathroom and the exhaust. Also this Chik was in total contrast to the one by Tally's house that was one of the MOST pleasant Chik Fil A experiences that I've ever had with people who got the order quickly, correctly and even said things like please and thank you and do you need barbecue sauce?)

We were back on the road (from Fayetteville in case you forgot during that long aside) at around 4:30 and by then Rob had decided he was going to 'go for it.' His goal was to get us to within two hours of home, but once I heard that I knew we were going to go all the way home because really, after 10 or 11 hours on the road, what is two more? Especially when stopping meant we'd have to unload children and suitcases and cooler and DVD player?

I don't have any pictures from this leg of the trip because I was trying to pretend that I was anywhere except in the car. It was cramped and noisy and my stomach was rebelling against all the junk food I'd eaten. Eventually Rob decided that if he could stop and rest his eyes for 30 minutes we'd make it the rest of the way home.

So he, being a very smart man, stopped at a mall at around 8 p.m. so the girls and I could go out and look around for 30 minutes or so.

We also did some shopping because seriously, has anyone ever known me to go to a mall without picking up a little something???

45 minutes later we were back in the car refreshed (me, too -- amazing that retail therapy, isn't it?) and back on the road.

By 10 the girls were asleep and Rob and I were listening to piano concertos on the CD player and talking. It was actually a very nice end to the trip.

Of course then we got home and it was soooooo cold. And that was INSIDE the house!!!

The Easter Bunny had been at work earlier in the day setting up an elaborate and (the next day when we did it) totally fun and cool egg hunt that included lots of yarn and candy, and unfortunately also had to dispose of one of our fish that she (the Easter Bunny) is pretty sure died from hypothermia because Rob -- ever one to save on propane -- turned the heat down to 50 or so and the fish couldn't take it. Luckily I'm the only one who ever really even looks at the fish, although the Easter Bunny and helpers did manage to get one that looked sort of like the old one, so thanks for that.

So the first thing I did was to turn up the heat. The second thing I did was to get three very tired girls (me, too) into my bed with our clothes AND jackets on. That's the way we fell asleep and that's the way we woke up at 8:30 a.m. when it was finally back up to 69 in the house although it was 25 outside.

Here's my illustration of the cold. The first picture is the girls on Saturday morning and the second picture is Rob on Sunday morning.

In all seriousness we had a great trip and hope to do something like it again in the future (probably far in the future!) Thanks to all who opened their doors to us during the trip!

A Night in the Hampton

It was sad to say goodbye to Aunt Louise and Uncle Mike because we knew that was the last fun thing we were going to do before getting on the road for miles and miles and miles. But since Rob only had one week off, we had to eventually get home.

We decided to stop in Savannah because we'd never done any time in Georgia and it was only about 5 hours in the car.

So five hours later Rob says to me, where do you want to stay? And I say, How about a Hampton Inn (since I am a member of their frequent visitor club, if you consider once every 18 months or so frequent) and he says okay.

So I go to the book that I got him for his birthday that shows everything off of every exit on I95. I tell him there is a Hampton Inn at exit 109. So, imagine my surprise when at roughly exit 94 he turns off the highway.

"I said, exit 109," I said.

"I know," he said. "My book says there's a Hampton Inn at this exit."

"Okay," I said.

But then we are driving and driving and driving. And -- worse yet -- the DVD the girls had been watching was ending. And we drove some more.

Finally I said, "Where is this Hampton Inn?"

He said something like, "just up here..."

And we keep looking 'just up here' until finally I take a look at his book and see that it is an AAA travel guide from 1995.

Seriously.

1995.

So I got on the phone with the Hampton Inn and reserved us a room (one of only two left) at the Hampton Inn at exit 109 and we go there. After some additional driving.

The Hampton Inn was actually overbooked, but since we got there 10 minutes after I made the reservation they gave us a room they had just given to someone else. I'm sure someone arriving at midnight was sleeping in the lobby, but it wasn't us.

We had comfy beds and a delivery pizza and a hot shower... well, actually we DIDN'T have a hot shower. So I, in a rare New Yorker flashback went down to the front desk and asked for a discount for the room because really, a hot shower should be standard, especially when a family of four was going to be spending the next 12 hours or so in a confined environment.

And they comped us the room for the whole night. YAY!! So not only did I find us a hotel for the night, I found us a FREE hotel. I rock. :)

Here's Lizzie enjoying the good news about the free room:

And here's Hannah enjoying the card (and the $2) she got from Grandma Jo!

It's hard to believe that my next post will be about the last day on the road, but it's true. That week went by FAST!!!

Yale

Rob's Aunt and Uncle live in the coolest community. It's kind of like an apartment complex, but you have your own house and a bit of a yard. Then the rest of the community is right there and you can hang out with them when you want -- or retreat back into your house when you don't want. They've got things like poker games and bingo and community breakfasts and dinners and even line dancing. It's like camp for grown-ups. Uncle Mike has a neat boat, too, but we weren't there long enough to launch it. (We were just there to lunch it -- ha, ha.)

Rob was still feeling pretty ill when we left Grandma and Grandpas but one look at Uncle Mike's classic cars stored in his garage and he was perky and happy again. He didn't even mind my comment about Mike's cars actually WORKING, which separates them from HIS cars in MY garage, so he must have really been enjoying himself.

We took a little tour of the community, which sits on Lake Yale, and the girls even got to see some local nature.In case the local nature isn't clearly visible, here's a close up of two sand cranes. Personally I was hoping for alligators, but you know, you take your nature where you can get it:

Here's a picture of the whole gang. We're standing on a pier for Lake Yale, that was destroyed by a hurricane several years ago. Louise and Mike were very instrumental in getting the new pier approved and built, so it's actually dedicated to them. Pretty cool, huh?

So after a delicious lunch of spaghetti with shrimp and the gifting of a stuffed bunny to each girl and two containers of Easter cookies, we were back on the road again.

And then there was food poisoning

Things were going swimmingly (literally as you can see)

and then it all came to a halt on Thursday night when Rob got sick. Really sick. The kind of sick that was so sick that he didn't even want to move from the girls' bedroom into the room we were using ... which meant he had to sleep in the same room as their shenanigan-prone selves.

And for those of you who know him well, the poor guy left in the middle of eating a hot dog to retire for an evening of in and out of the bathroom. Poor guy.

Most of the group diagnosed Rob with food poisoning from the leftover chicken I had brought home from an Italian restaurant the previous night. He had it for lunch and was sick about 3 hours later. However, the doctors involved in this decision (Grandma and Grandpa) did not factor into the equation that I had eaten half of the meal the night before and was fine.

My theory was that it was the clam sauce that got him. However I admit to a documented hatred of clams ever since my best friend in high school's father made me eat one on some beach in New York and it was so vile that I had to carry it around in my cheek for a good hour until I could find a place to spit the slimy thing out. But, I digress...

The point is that either it was the clam sauce OR my parents' refrigerator plotted against my husband. So, even though I have a vivid enough imagination to come up with a way that the refrigerator had conspired to rot only one piece of chicken, I'm sticking with the clam sauce theory.

The good news though, was that Rob was feeling much better the next morning because we had places to go and people to see and the girls wanted to watch the Cinderella video for the 47th time. So we got back on the road to begin our trip north. First stop (next post) was Aunt Louise and Uncle Mike's home in Leesburg.

Since no one wants to see a picture of Rob being sick, here's a really nice picture I took of my daughters and my mother, just before we left. Grandpa was playing golf and had said his goodbyes much earlier.

The Domino Effect

Florida was absolutely wonderful. The weather was spectacular and the girls had a great time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa. It turns out that Grandpa is actually funny -- I have to admit I've never gotten it, but Lizzie thought he was hysterical. I guess they must share a sense of humor. ;) She now refers to him as Grandpa Silly Noodlehead. Here she is showing off one of her gazillion pictures to him (and Grandma, too).

Of course now that I'm looking at the picture, maybe she was just laughing at his shirt (just kidding Dad -- Rob now has several shirts that look very similar!)

This is Hannah dancing (I think) for them. Or maybe she was just jumping up and down, something which they both seem to do a lot of (my daughters, not my parents).

My mother had more intellectual pursuits in mind and taught Hannah and Lizzie how to play dominos. This is an incredible feat because when we were in the Poconos a couple of years ago my mother tried to teach her own children how to play dominos only to realize that she had forgotten to tell us several of the rules. She has since learned the game, and Hannah and Lizzie had a great time matching the tiles. They both won and I'd like to say that my mother was letting them win, but having played both dominos and poker with her, she probably didnt. :)

And finally, speaking of intellectual pursuits our trip to Florida was made even more complete by the discovery of a college named for us in the town over from my parents. It has, according to the literature, been around since 1900 and is 'regionally' accredited, which is, according to the literature, the highest regional praise. I think the entrance exam to Rasmussen College is to figure out exactly what that means. However, here we are at our college.

Florida!!

The five hour drive from Tally's house to Aunt Brenda's house was basically uneventful for 4 and a half hours. Then we couldn't find the house. The good news is that the security guard at the gate was wearing bunny ears and gave Hannah and Lizzie candy. The bad news is that it was not Aunt Brenda's complex or her security guard.

Luckily cell phones were charged and working and we were able to navigate to her home where we took this picture.

And this picture:The above picture is taken with a statue of a manatee. Hannah and Liz had never seen a manatee until Aunt Brenda sent me some of her old flags a couple of months ago and one of them was a manatee. Now they love them. They also loved Aunt Brenda's brownies which they ate at her house and then stole a few more during the two hour ride to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

After the brownies and a look at some old photos -- Aunt Brenda actually has a picture of Ging Ging (my grandmother) SMILING! which none of us remember seeing too often but it's nice to know it was there -- we got back into the car.

Two hours later we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house. YAY!!! Rob and I had visited Tarpon Springs before Hannah and Lizzie were born and it was so nice to go back. (It was nice seeing my parents, too!) My grandmother Garrity lived in that area for much of her adulthood, but I'd only been to visit her once, in 1986 during a trip I took with my Mom. Back then I was more interested in the beach than the local color. This time Hannah and Liz were more interested in the pool than the local color -- so the circle continues.

We did manage to take them to the sponge docks which is one of the places I visited with my grandmother. We walked around and the girls each bought something for themselves, courtesy of the $ my friend Gayle gave them. It took them forever to decide because they DO know the value of a dollar (or five) thanks to their father (not me!) and wanted to make sure that they got exactly what they wanted.

Here they are doing their best shark impressions in front of the aquarium.And here we are taking a break while waiting for our Gyro platters at Hella's, a phenomenal Greek restaurant where we had eaten before and couldn't wait to eat at again.

This is Lizzie with the fish she bought with her money (Hannah bought a cat, but I didn't get a picture of it.)

And here's just a nice picture of Hannah and her Daddy. They are growing up SO FAST!!

And of course there was time for a dip in the pool!!

A Message from Hannah and Elizabeth

We take a break from the travelogue to wish you a HAPPY EASTER!!

(Thanks for the dresses, Grandma Connie!!)

Day Two Tea and Jam

So things were going really well. The girls were coloring or watching DVDs or talking NICELY to each other ... and we all know that when things are THAT perfect, it's too good to be true. And that was the case for us.

As soon as we got into South Carolina, we stopped. And by stopped I mean, dead stop get out of the car and play football with the kids in the car behind you kind of stopped. The sit for two hours when it stops being fun after 30 minutes kind of stopped.

Here are the pictures to show you the kind of stopped it was:

The picture above shows not only Rob reading the Wall Street Journal, but also our GPS which got us lost at least twice!! At least the weather was beautiful and the cooler was filled with food (thanks Gayle -- the cooler was another lifesaver as it kept everything cool for a long time, even when the car was turned off!)

After nearly two hours we were back on the road again. We found out from one of the football players (actually students from Richard Stockton College in New Jersey) that someone had been hauling a trailer and another car had hit the trailer and there was debris all over the road that needed to be cleaned up. I don't know how far the backup went but it was three miles where we were -- and like I said, we'd been sitting there for nearly two hours!

Luckily we made it to Aunt Tally's house by early evening. Tally lives in the southern-most part of South Carolina (I think -- you know how bad I am with directions) on a golf course although she doesn't play golf (yet -- I'm sure the family (curse) game will soon be added to her list of activities.

Here are Tally and the girls at a park on the water, not far from her house. They are sitting on a shrimp, which I didn't know because I have never seen one that wasn't doused in cocktail sauce. The second picture is just a nice one of Tally and Hannah and then Tally drawing a picture of a dog for Lizzie (I generously cropped out the actual picture of the dog...):

I tried to get pictures of Tally's dogs, Daisy and Dixie. Here's my best shot of Dixie, who was NOT fond of the shutterbug who came to visit!!

Finally ... it wouldn't be a vacation without cookies and milk. Here are Rob/Bob and the girls enjoying them at Tally's house.

Stay tuned for the next installment when we get to FLORIDA where it is FINALLY WARM!!!

The Trip. Day One.

As all of you know, we decided -- in a moment of genius or stupidity -- to drive down to Florida and stop and see friends along the way. I have to say that, now that the trip is nearly over, it's been fun. I'd like to say the reason it's been fun has been the family togetherness, the singing of songs, the playing of license plate bingo, the endless jokes... but really it's been fun because Terry loaned me her DVD player for the car. Oh, and it's been fun seeing friends, too... :)

Day One took us to Raleigh, North Carolina to see my neice (who lives 15 minutes from me) show her horse. We didn't stay to see if she won, but my she is gorgeous on her horse, Seamus, isn't she?

Here are some pictures from Day One.

Lunch at "The Spot." (I'm obsessed about stopping places called Spot because that was the name of my favorite cat.) This spot was in Maryland, near Annapolis.

And speaking of Annapolis, I'd like to thank my two navigators who helped us find the Annapolis library. How did we ever survive before cell phones and blackberries (and sisters?) We did find the library and had a nice break there. Then it was on to Raleigh, N.C. where we (Bob actually) drove through an horrific rainstorm. The weather was nice the next morning for the horse show, though. We also got to see one of Terry's old friends from college, whom I hadn't seen in more than a decade. That was fun!

This is Hannah and Liz meeting Seamus (the horse) for the first time. They weren't interested in getting any closer!

This is Shelby in action. I took Western riding lessons when I was at camp (for about 15 minutes) and as fun as that was, English is really much more regal, isn't it?

Look for day two (THE TRAFFIC JAM!!) tomorrow!

Welcome

I'm blogging.

Lock your doors and secure your bandwidth. :)

The reason I am now blogging when I have been SO against it forever, is because my website will now become a place for my professional persona. But since I know that nearly everyone (okay probably EVERYONE) visits my website to see updated pictures of Banana and Little Bit I want to give you the opportunity to not only see how cute they continue to be, but also to see what's going on in their (our) lives. So now you can read your updates and SEE PICTURES right here.

Pictures like this:

Or like this:

Or you may even see yourself in a photo, like this:

So, enjoy!