I have company

Tags

children, family, postaday2015

   
    
 
   
    
   
Who knew that jumping up and down, either on a trampoline or from a bungee style harness could be the cure for jet lag? Well maybe it only works on those 18 and younger. lol

I am very happy to have my mother, sister and my niece and nephew in Paris with me. We are going to discover Paris through the eyes of my sister’s kids which will be a lot of fun.

It’s nice to know that the Jardin de Tuileries isn’t only for adults, there are tons of activities, arcade games, snack food and of course rides both big and small to keep children entertained.

   
    
   
After I left the gang at their hotel so they can rest and get their French mojo on the right time zone. I walked back towards my own neck of the woods with a little detour at the Palais Royal, which is stunning since it has been restored to its former glory.

   
   
   
   

Family dynamics

Tags

children, dogs, postaday2015

We are all still getting to know our Lulu and it is still as interesting as ever. Jack and Lulu are strengthening their bond on a daily basis; they adore going on walks together and I see first hand how Lulu adapts her behavior according to Jack’s. I have to confess that Lulu is only the second female that I have helped to take care of and the first, Jacquelina, a gorgeous blond Golden Retriver was from over twenty years ago, but from what I remember of Jacquelina, she didn’t mark her territory as Dylan, the mahogany Golden Retriever, her companion did, she went once and that was it. Lulu on the other hand has begun marking every tree stump that we encounter just like Jack does, first one goes and then the other and to top it off, Lulu spastically does the same thing as Jack does with his hind legs, scratches at the ground to cover up whatever she did; what makes it so comical besides how her back legs flail around and then it looks like she is stretching, is that poor Jack either gets a facefull of dirt or old leaves, he doesn’t look very happy when that happens. They do however walk nicely side by side, patiently waiting for the other while he or she is off sniffing something, the other then approachs to give the once over sniff in approbation. 

I know that I have posted pictures of Lulu sitting on my lap but now it has gotten crazy; I don’t know if Lulu is bound and determined to have my lap because she wants to do everything that Jack does or if it is because she just wants to be very close to me, but either way I have two dogs not vying for primacy, they are just happy to be close together on my lap, Lulu leans over and licks Jack, Jack kisses her back and I have one hand on him with the other on her and they are happy to fall asleep with Jack sleeping quietly while Miss Lulu snores loudly and rhythmically,  making us all giggle. 

 

      

My husband and I are on the road again and I miss them already, I miss the kids as well, but they are busy with their jobs and school, which makes my husband and I very happy besides the fact that they take excellent care of Jack and Lulu. Our daughter is a great mom to Lulu which doesn’t surprise me, she was pretty wonderful with her bunny Jump when she was little and she took very good care of the two ferrets that she had in her room.

I am looking forward to getting back home, but being on the road has its perks, my husband and I get quality alone time which is very important especially when you have to start preparing yourself both mentally and emotionally for the moment in time when your children leave the home. That is one thing that I am not looking forward to whatsoever; I wouldn’t mind how ever long they stayed at home, in my mind it’s their home and they are welcome forever. Having said this I realize that it does one good to separate oneself from one’s parents and I know that it will happen for our children, I’m just not going to rush them towards the inevitable.

21 is an exciting birthday to be sure

Tags

birthdays, children, postaday2015

            

At 6:10, 21 years ago, our daughter was  born. We are so proud of her  and today we are spending the entire day together, all four of us plus of course Jack and Lulu. We just came back from having lunch at her favorite  place in Westfield “”Wings”  where she had her first beer as aan adult of legal drinking age. Tonight we will be having dinner at Olive Garden and then her big brother will take her out iin Northampton,, a fine college town.

We still see our little one when we look at our young lady, but when we listen to her speak about her dreams and plans, she is wise beyond her 21 years. She has strong sense of who she is and who she would like to be in the future. 21 is a very exciting time and I know  that she will make the most of it.

Look at that face, you want to squeeze those cheeks and smother them in kisses, she is so cute!

Two of the four

Tags

children, cuteness, pets, postaday2015, sharing

How adorable are my two? Our daughter loves to cuddle with Jack and he has been making us laugh even more than usual. Jack has been so used to the boundaries that he set for my husband and the sharing with his “brother”,our son, that he tolerates; that when our daughter came back home and hasn’t left yet; he finds that he has to share his Maman with yet another “sibling”, he looks confused. He has been trying to slyly and politely come in between us, but our daughter hasn’t any troubles informing Jack that I am her Maman first and he needs to wait for his turn. Jack turns on his big dark brown eyes on her and she kind of melts, a little. He is so cute. So is she. They are both cute together.

We have returned!

Tags

children, Home, Jack, postaday2014

Ah it is so good to be home again! Jack is very happy to see us.

Our son picked us up from the bus and as soon as we got home, he was out the door, off to see Limp Biskit in concert, out in Boston. I would have included a picture of our son, but I was way too slow, he was like Taz the Tasmanian Devil, up to his room and poof! out the door.

As you can see from the picture, Jack loves his perches, he has them almost everywhere. He has one here in the library, he has two others in the living room, he has one in our son’s room, and one in our daughter’s room. He loves looking outside with the sun shining on him, very much like a cat. He also make us think of Meerkats when he sits up on his haunches begging for food. He has a nice solid backside, perfect for sitting and looking from his papa to me and back to his papa, waiting patiently for some sort of morsel to come his way.

Our daughter left for University :(

Tags

children, postaday2014, university

My husband and I dropped our daughter off at the airport very early this morning so that she can resume her studies at school, she is a junior this year. We are both sad, happy for our daughter, but sad for ourselves. We love having our children at home, we know that they need to leave the nest, but we like having them nearby, they are both very funny and engaging.

I know that our daughter is going to have a great semester and is getting closer to getting a firm grasp of what she wants to do with her life as she gets older. She is a very responsible young lady as is our son. Whatever path they choose for themselves, I am sure that they will give it their all and they will be successful. My husband and I will be on the sidelines, in the background, wherever they want us to be, cheering them on and supporting them however they need us to and loving them unconditionally in the process.

I still miss her.

Daily prompt: City Planners

Tags

children, postaday2014, school, towns

If you could clone one element from another city you’ve visited — a building, a cultural institution, a common street food, etc. — and bring it back to your own hometown, what would it be?

When my husband and I moved to Blandford twenty years ago; it was initially to provide help and support to his mother and grandmother and then we saw the benefits of what a small town could provide our children during their formative years.

We saw a small town with a strong sense of community, a brand new school, a pretty town park, a Historical Society, a Town Hall, a library and an adorable General Store. It seemed to be everything that small town Americana was supposed to be and we embraced it.

Sadly after we bought our house that I love with all of my heart; the school right behind our house was deemed to be superfluous to the district’s needs and was closed. We fought that decision tooth and nail, but in the end we still lost so we decided to take our children to another school district where they flourished because luckily that school and its teachers were amazing.

So if I were to do just one thing to change our town, it would be to clone that amazing other school and put it where Blandford’s old school is, to provide the town’s children a wonderful facility with amazing teachers.

What the regional school district failed to appreciate when they made their decision to close Blandford’s school wasn’t just the harm they did to the children, but the longterm harm they did to the town itself. Our town become much smaller the day it lost its school. Schools represent children, the future and investment in opportunities and by shutting our school we were given the message that the future wasn’t important for Blandford.

So there we are, the one thing needed to be cloned and inserted in my small town is a school; sadly, not an easy thing to accomplish.

In two minutes, the baby boy is born

Tags

birthday, children, writing

As I am typing these words, my iPad is showing the time to be 11:39, in two minutes twenty two years ago, our baby born was born at 11:41 a.m. Those numbers are emblazoned in my mind, the clock was right in front of me it seemed. It was 36 hours of hard back labor and 11:41 was the minute that I felt him liberated from my body and then silence. I asked why isn’t my baby crying and more silence, finally there was a cry and he was whisked away as was I, to a room with the nurse taking care of me. Eventually they brought our baby boy to me and I nursed him, my mother was there as was my hubby. My hubby had been with me the entire time as was the entire hospital, or so it felt like it. At one point I had two midwives, two nurses and a bunch of student nurses, Saint Vincent’s hospital was a teaching hospital so I guess my case was more interesting than others for the length, pain and natural aspect of it all. We went completely natural, which somewhere in the throes of pain I asked my hubby for something, anything to take the pain away. During those seemingly eternal hours of pain, I felt out of my mind with pain, I couldn’t formulate a single coherent thought, word, or anything, I felt reduced to instinct and animal feeling. So I begged him to go out to seventh avenue and find me anything that would take the pain away. He nodded and didn’t move, lol. Mother Nature is miraculous in her ability to release amnesiac chemicals in women’s brains that make them forget exactly how labor goes because women do it again. I have to say that the end result is completely and stupendously worth it. My hubby and I fell in love with our beautiful baby boy, the minute that he was a bump in my belly. We talked to him and used to watch him do his acrobatics in my belly, that was part of the problem in the delivery, he had tangled himself up with the cord because of his shenanigans, the little dynamo. He spent three days in neo-natal, all nine and a half pounds of him. After that he and I were inseparable, I was his food and he was hungry all the time, he grew it seemed exponentially, he eventually got the nickname the Michelin man. He had all of the rolls that make babies so cute and you want to just nibble on them. Now today he is a grown twenty two year old young man. Time flies incredibly fast, I remember his birth as if it were yesterday. It is truly amazing. Happy Birthday baby boy!

Hooray we are home!

Tags

children, foliage, Jack, Miami, postaday2013, travel

We are missing our baby girl and saying goodbye was bittersweet but it is nice to be back home in Massachusetts. We missed both the baby boy and Jack. My feet are a little cold because it is a cool 55 degrees as opposed to the 85 degree humid soup we left. There were some gorgeous views out in Miami, but when we were flying back home and getting close to the ground, the fall foliage was breathtaking seen from above. All the rusts, oranges, yellows, reds and greens made me think of pumpkin pie, apple tartes and hot chocolate.

I am exhausted and I am definitely looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight as I am sure that Jack is looking forward to sleeping with his Maman and Papa. lol. Here are two pictures of our little baby boy Jack.

Hooray, the baby boy is back home!

Tags

children, food, Home, postaday2013, sushi, traveling

My son is done with his recording session on Cape Cod with his band and we met him in Boston so that he can get the car to get back home to his little sister and little Jack. Since my hubby and I both missed him very much, we decided that before he got into the car, we would have a nice sushi dinner before letting him go on his merry way. My hubby took the three of us to the Kowloon restaurant, an Asian restaurant happy to serve you food from any expression of Asian cuisine. There was a selection for Thai lovers, Szechuan aficionados, Cantonese and even Sushi. While our baby boy was ordering, it was apparent that the poor boy hadn’t eaten very well or very much because he took advantage of the fact that there was something for every type of Asian craving you might be having. He ordered scallion pancakes, paper thin sliced tuna served with a spicy vinaigrette and a sushi/sashimi combo plate. I ordered two special rolls one with eel, avocado and cucumber and the other, spicy tuna and cucumber, they were both yummy. My hubby ordered pad thai, a standard Thai noodle dish, one that I have made several times at home and it is the Thai version of a comfort food dish. Noodles, ground pork, shrimp and pieces of sautéed egg with bean sprouts, cilantro and peanuts, it is a delicious combination of flavors.

We are very happy to have both of our children home now. I might be becoming like my grandmother, she was always happiest when she had everyone around her at the table. A full house, in her estimation, was a happy house. If my babies want to stay home while they are getting their lives together and their plans off the ground, I would be more than happy to have them home with us.