Summer Recap, Part 1

Well since I was such a bad blogger I am giving you, my readers (wait do I even HAVE readers??) a recap of the LaDore Summer of Fun. I will say right now that Francesca and Gavin had a way-funner summer than did Scott and I, mostly because we still had to go to work...boooo work. We started our Summer of Fun at 11:31AM, Friday June 26th, 2009 - one minute after school let out. Scott and I both took the day off of work and we picked the kids up at Park Ave., bid adieu to friends and headed for Boston. Yippeee!! My home-away-from-home from September 1991-June 1996. The home of Northeastern University, my alma mater. I was soooo excited and so were the kids. Scott was too, I guess. Scott is way low-key compared to me and the kids. Anyway, after 3 hours, several bathroom breaks (Gavin has a bladder the size of a flea) and many many many "Are we there yet's???" we were there!!!! We were able to check into our hotel, the Colonnade on Huntington Avenue. A BOUTIQUE hotel. A BIG RISK with the LaDore children. They were a bit miffed that this hotel did not offer continental breakfast, as they are used to when they go away with my parents and stay at a Hampton Inn or a Holiday Inn Express. For Francesca and Gavin a good hotel is not measured in AAA stars but whether or not they get cinnamon rolls, unlimited juice and all-you-can-eat cereal in the lobby in the morning. We assured them that they would not starve and once they saw how cool our room was they lightened up. They also saw the rooftop pool, which was way cool in their estimation.

We headed first for the Boston Childrens' Museum, which on Friday nights from 5-9PM is only $1 admission. Such a deal! They had a great time at the Childrens' Museum, exploring all 3 floors, climbing, jumping, playing and just having fun. We followed and occasionally got to help. After leaving we headed back to our hotel and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory across the street at the Prudential Center. Of course the whole weekend was overshadowed by Michael Jackson's death and the ever-present litany of questions from the kids about him. Such as "Why does he look THAT WAY and his brothers look so different?" Oh boy I did not even want to delve into that one...not then, not ever. I don't remember what answer I gave them, but I guess it shut them up for the moment.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early - because even on vacation F and G don't sleep late - and hopped on the "T" (the Boston subway for those of you not in the know) and took it to Government Center, where we could walk to Quincy Market. We bought tickets for the Red Trolley and waited....and waited...and waited. For God's sake, where is this trolley? Every other trolley went by except the Red Trolley! Finally we were picked up and were happy to discover that we were just about the only people on the trolley. There were 2 other couples but we picked up a few more people at the next stop. As is the case with the kids, they will talk to anyone. Anyone. Not always a great thing, but anyway. The trolley driver was very animated - an ex-New Yorker I believe. Gavin kept answering his questions and the next thing you know, Gav and Checka were being invited to sit at the front of the trolley across from the driver. Oh boy they were so excited. For me and Scott it was almost an hour of sightseeing uninterrupted. We were sitting halfway back, enjoying the sights and the kids were up front, helping give the tour. Within 10 minutes the tour driver knew their names, what grades they were in and what we planned on seeing that day. The funniest moment had to be when we crossed into Cambridge and drove past MIT. The driver started talking about MIT and Gavin says "Oh my mommy went there!" and the driver said "Really??" like he was all impressed. I had to correct Gav and say nooooo I am a Northeastern alumni. He was still impressed, just not so much.

We got off the trolley at the Constitution and waited for about 30 minutes in the hot sun to board. You actually have to go through National Security to get on line. Kind of sad that it has all come to that. But we all loved the tour and had fun exploring the ship. After we re-boarded the trolley and headed back to Quincy Market we had decided that we needed to take a boat cruise. So we did. We took a tour of the Boston Harbor. The kids loved that and we loved sitting down for 45 minutes. After that we were suckered in to taking the kids to Build-A-Bear.

Back at the hotel we were very disappointed that it started to rain and we could not swim in the rooftop pool. The hotel manager gave the kids water pistols instead and suddenly their impression of the hotel improved. "No cinnamon rolls Mommy but I did get a water pistol". We couldn't leave as quickly as we wanted to because there was a wedding going on and every freaking wedding guest had valet parked and our car was blocked in. What a nightmare! It took us, the manager and 4 valets to get the van out. 30 minutes later we were on our way to the "No Name Restaurant" on the water for seafood. Yum-O to quote Rachel Ray! We waited for about 20 minutes and then were amazingly sat at a table overlooking the water. Granted our immediate view was the docks where fish is unloaded but hey it was still the water. The waitress gave us a big plate of garlic bread, which the kids eagerly ate. They didn't realize it was garlic bread and we didn't tell them. Not until the plate was clean did we tell them what they ate. If looks could kill...Scott and I would be dead. It was too funny. We all enjoyed our dinner - deep fried seafood for me and Scott, chicken fingers for them. Followed by gooey chocolate and carrot cake for dessert. One cannot come to Boston and not have fried seafood. The kids just about collapsed into bed and we started packing the suitcase to leave the next day.

Sunday June 28th - a national holiday in my book. Actually it was my birthday. The trip was my present. We ate breakfast and then headed out. We drove past Northeastern and I was shocked how much it had changed! Buildings went up where parking lots previously stood. Wow. A former dive bar was now the faculty club! The kids were not impressed. I was. It made me remember how much fun I had going to college there. Francesca said she thought she might want to go to school there. At almost $40K a year I hope she gets some sort of scholarship. I did read that they give athletic scholarships for every sport offered - over 40. Guess we will be finding an obscure one for her to pursue. On the way home we stopped at the "Travelers Rest" restaurant in Vernon, CT. I think it was Vernon - it was exit 74 off of I84. It's a restaurant that is also filled with used books. In fact, everyone gets a free book when they leave. The kids agonized over what book to choose - I think that took longer than eating lunch! After that we drove the 2 hours home and were happy to be back.

We saw so much in Boston but there is so much more to see. The kids definitely want to go back. So do we!

Hello again

I should just repeat my June post that says I am a sucky blogger but I won't. I should have blogged all summer but I didn't. So this weekend, I will make time to blog. I'll add it to my to-do list. The kids are back to school and already funny stuff is happening. The conversations that the LaDore children have in the back of the car are waaaaay too funny. I should seriously hide a mike back there and tape what they are saying. The other day I almost had a car accident because I was laughing so hard.

We went shoe shopping and F and Gav were introduced to the concept of the "Ped" - at least that's what we always called them. You know, those pantyhose like things that you put on when you try on shoes. They were fascinated with them. They wanted to take them home - which they did, several in fact. So we get in the car and are driving home and all of a sudden those things are on their heads! And they're laughing their butts off! I hear Gav say to Checka, "You look like a cafeteria lady!". OMG I almost crashed my car on I95 I laughed so hard. She said to him "You want ketchup with that kid?" They found so many uses for those sock-thingys over the next few days. I finally had to hide them and throw them out. Cafeteria ladies indeed!

Have you ever heard of this game?

My mind works in funny ways. I have a big mouth (me??? noooo...who are you talking about??). I sometimes say things I should not. Who doesn't? Tuesday I did not feel too good and told Scott I didn't want dinner but when I got home I'd cook for everyone else. Scott, being the great hubby that he is, told me not to bother, that he'd get the kids and pick up dinner. He came home with dinner (and flowers for me - for no reason!) and the kids. They got dinner from a place in PC (which I will not name, to protect the probably-guilty parties). When he told me which waitress was working, I commented "Oh I bet she'll be playing 'hide the sausage' later with ..." I can't tell you the owner's name because then you'll know where I mean if you live in PC. Ha ha. So then Francesca, who was sitting next to me, says

"Hide the sausage! Hide the sausage? Is that a new kid's game that you play? I've never heard of it. How do you play it?"

I almost choked on my food, as did Scott. If looks could kill, I wouldn't be typing right now. We explained to Francesca that it was not a game and Mommy was just talking about something that people who work in restaurants do...umm not the best explanation but whatever. She did not mention it again thankfully. I really have to watch what I say. Those little ears are always listening!!

R.I.P. Fish

If you are a follower of my blog, you'll remember the fish incident we had over Christmas break. Never again will we volunteer to host the class fish over school break as we almost killed the one we were watching. We blame all that on Picky Picky, she likes seafood and was looking for a snack.

Anway, Gavin attended a birthday party last week where the "take-home gift" (goody bag kind of thing) was GOLDFISH. OMG I was really hoping Gavin would not see this but of course he did and had to get on line to get one (or two in our case; guess he smiled real nice at the kid's mom and she gave him an extra). So we go home with 2 little fish in a Ziploc container. Scott was oh-so-thrilled when we got home. Francesca was ecstatic, as were the cats! SNACKS, they said! We kept the fish in the plastic container overnight and went to PETCO in the morning to get them a real home.

We came home with a simple tank, some rocks and a lighthouse for the inside. Mommy put the kibbosh on anything too fancy, "because fish die" I said. Wow was that ever prophetic! Scott assimiliated the fish into their new home and all was well...for the next 6 days that is.

Fast forward to last Friday night. We all come home from work/school and the fish are fine. We went out to dinner and then to Kohl's (Mommy needed a new outfit). Got home, walk upstairs and Gavin goes into his room and turns on the light.

"Daddy, COME IN HERE NOW!!! DADDY!!"

One fish had sunk to the bottom of the tank. Uh-Oh...Scott scoops the fish out, shows it to Gavin and says "Gav it's dead. The fish died".

Oh my I have never seen a more heart-breaking and pathetic scene. Scott explained to Gavin and Francesca that when he was younger he would flush his fish down the toilet when they died. Scott had alot of fish over the years, he's an expert on fish. Gavin literally hit the floor in the bathroom, started to sob and covered his eyes with his hands. Francesca started pacing and crying herself. It took everything we had to say goodbye, flush the fish, get the kids into their pj's and calm them down. We thought that it might be nice to all get into mommy and daddy's bed and snuggle. So there we are, in bed, and Gav says

"Mommy, could you please 'say something' about Fish #1?? We need to pray...'In the name of the Father...' "

Oh my, I almost could not get through the "Fish Eulogy" without laughing. Tears were streaming from my face, and not because I was upset. I talked about how Fish #1 was a faithful pet for the 6 days that we had him/her and that him/her enjoyed swimming in the beautiful tank with his/her friend Fish #2. We finally got them into bed and to sleep. We went to bed. The next morning I was woken up before my alarm went off. Why, you ask?

"DADDY!!! MOMMY!!! It happened again!!! Fish #2 is DEAD!!!!"

More tears. More flushing. Tee ball followed by a trip to PETCO to buy 3 more replacement fish. Scott washed out the tank. Fast-forward to Tuesday. 2 of the replacements went belly-up. Literally. One bigger, stronger (we hope) fish remains. Gav is taking all this fish death in stride. He tells us every morning "The fish is alive! It made it throw the night!!"

TOOTS!!!!

Toots is our new kitten. I will post pix but right now I'm at work and have no pictures to post. She is a mini version of Picky-Picky, our 10 year old fat cat. Well she looks fat now next to Toots, who is only 9 weeks old. We went back and forth over what to name this new addition to our family. I liked "Toontses", like the driving cat on Saturday Night Live, and "Pippa". The kids liked Toots, as did Scott. So Toots it is. The first night though, Gav called her "FiFi" because he "did not want to name the cat something that comes out of him every day". I kid you not. But she is Toots now. Toots is very jumpy - she jumps on us, on furniture, on poor Picky-Picky. Gavin is sort of afraid of her; whenever she is around he yells "TOOOOOOTS" and we know he is crounched in a corner or on a table far out of her reach. He also yells "CAT FIGHT" when the two cats start wrestling. It's all good, she is a cute little thing and we love her.

The World According to Gavin

A few mornings ago, Gavin was being a good little boy and washing his face/brushing his teeth, without me or Scott having to covince him to do so. I looked at him and said, "Gavin, how did Mommy and Daddy end up with such a cute blond-haired, blue-eyed boy?" to which he replied

"Well Mommy didn't you just ask God for a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy?"

OMG, so cute he is! I cannot stand the cuteness.

"No Gav, I just asked him for a healthy baby, and we got you".

"Hmmm, Mommy...don't you think you should be able to request what you want? He should take requests."

The Gospel According to Gavin :)

I am a sucky blogger!

Enough of the apologies on my part, I just need to blog more consistently. Funny things have happened at the LaDore house, many in the past week, and Scott shoots me a look and says "That's blog-worthy"...yeah yeah yeah. So again, my apologies, those who actually read my blog (don't think it's many of you) and here goes...