July 4 plans

So, what are you all doing for July 4?

In our family, we have ALWAYS gone to the Needham fireworks on July 3, and then the Newton fireworks on July 4. Every year I say we're not going to do both of them, but we do. We are evidentally creatures of habit. Or idiots. Whatever. The kids like to do both because they are so markedly different. Needham is white suburbia, where parents bring whole families and everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is white white white. There are a lot of dogs, too.

Newton, OTOH, brings a lot of people who don't live in Newton, or who don't want to deal with the Esplanade. There are the Boston Ballet School summer students in droves, they have kiddy rides so there are a ton of young families and adorable babies, and a GREAT band called the Zaichick Brothers, who can play ANYTHING, and do. Lots of people of color, lots of elderly, infirm, and everything else. It's a wonderful mix of people. And they have real bathrooms at the poolhouse, which is important to a port-a-potty hater like me.

But..... this year my kids want to go to the Esplanade. Oh my God, no. But they do. They are dying to go. Craig Fergeson, who is a family favorite, is going to be there, so my son is way psyched. The music is very good, they want to see the cannons, and they just think it's going to be excellent entertainment. I've tried to explain the hassle of it. Taking the T. Dealing with the traffic. The port-a-pottys. The crowds. The waiting. But they are adament. I do not want to go. I don't like crowds.

We'll see. Newton is so easy to deal with. Not too crowded. Great food trucks. Decent bathrooms. Sigh.

So, what are your plans?

Introduction and Davis Farmland

I'm a newbie to this blog as well. Thank you also to Mrs. Chicky for letting me join! I grew up right outside Chicago and came to MA when I went to college at Wellesley. After college I lived in Hoboken, NJ for a couple years while working in NYC. My husband and I currently live in central MA. We have two little boys who are 3.5 and 1.

I must confess when I first heard about Davis Farmland, I thought that I was hearing things wrong. A splash pad (at the time my friends referred to it as a zero depth pool which didn't help either) combined with a petting farm? What a bizarre combo! I had a hard time visualizing it. Then I typed the name in wrong and brought up a porn site. Anyhow, Davis Farmland is very popular in the moms group I'm in as well as in my playgroup. My curiosity was piqued and so the next time my playgroup went, I joined in even though my son was only 10 months old at the time.

Our family loves it. I'm a huge animal lover and the recent playgroup photos of the kids interacting with the animals, feature me standing in the middle of the goat pen with all the kids. Basically the animals are all in smaller pens and a larger pen surrounds them so that if the animals get out, it's now big deal. The pens are colored coded for safety and the kids can walk right into many of the pens and brush the cows, feed the animals etc. The splash pad is also a lot of fun. There's also a playground, go carts, scooters, a whole Imaginarium section, not to mention great tasting ice cream. The best part in my opinion is that they have a bunch of shaded tables by the splash pad and the playground so my friends and I can actually have a conversation while the kids are off playing. Each party gets a paper bracelet with a matching number and number of people in the party which they check before you leave.

My one tip is to get there when it opens, see some animals and then hit the splash pad around 10 before it gets really crowded. That way you also will have a nice table for lunch and you can see the animals after (a lot of people do it the other way) or go around 3:30 because the park empties out and you will pretty much have it to yourself.

Meet-up

I was thinking of going to Davis Farm in the next few weeks. Is anyone interested in doing a meet-up there? They have the farm area and splash park. The girls always have alot of fun!

Hello There!

I'm MamaLee from Fullplate, and I am a newbie to this website. Thanks to Mrs. Chicky for graciously letting me join this group!

I grew up in Northeast Connecticut - I spent 34 years over there - and when I got married 7 years ago, I moved west to Litchfield County. Here we live in a 4-bedroom colonial, right next to slobs-for-neighbors and ticks in the woods in the backyard. Typically New England (well the ticks anyway)!

I have 3 wonderful, busy cherubs, ages 5, 4 and 2, and they, along with our 2 springers and my busy hubby, keep me on my toes. Especially Princess (the 4yr old) - she is SOOO lucky she is cute!) I used to be a music teacher and theatre guru before I got married and moved away, and now the mama-thing keeps my attention and my heart.

I look forward to posting about my life here in Connecticut and reading about your lives as well.

Again, thanks for having me!

FREE movies

Regal theatres are showing free family movies. In MA, this is the schedule. There are quite a few theatres in MA, so check and see if you live near one. In Boston, it's the Fenway 13. There are some pretty good movies for you guys with younger kids.

Have fun!

Call Me Ishmael

Yesterday Belly and I went on a whale watching trip with a group of homeschoolers. It was organized through the Family Resource Center which plans field trips for our ilk and, with the group rate, was a great deal for us. Belly is only six but was really excited to see a whale, so we spent the days leading up to our excursion reading books about whales and watching videos about ocean creatures.

Our trip was managed by The Yankee Fleet out of Gloucester, and our boat left the harbor promptly at 1:30pm. We had bright sunshine, a warm breeze and a giant black thundercloud slowly following from behind.

To say that we 'had some weatha' is downplaying it a bit. We had everything but snow and frogs falling from the sky. When the sun was out, it was lovely. When the sun hid behind a cloud, we all reached for our jackets. We watched the city of Boston, a tiny row of small buildings in the distance, engulfed in a haze of black and gray, with flashes of lightening every few moments. Seeing a thunderstorm off in the distance is very cool. Seeing a thunderstorm coming closer and closer to your seafaring vessel is not very cool.

I cursed myself for ever watching The Perfect Storm (where the heck was MY George Clooney when I needed him?!?!). Fortunately, Belly inherited my stomach of steel, and the waves did not make us seasick.

The rain started as a light shower. As it picked up, my beloved, smart, clairvoyant daughter said she wanted to go downstairs to the enclosed area to buy a snack. No sooner had we gotten under cover than the skies opened up. The rain came down hard, and people out on deck scrambled to get underneath something.

Then, "ping!, ping!, ping!" It was hail. I looked anxiously at all the other homeschooling families around me and hoped they wouldn't start asking who the non-Christian was on board since we were clearly being punished for the sins of one.

The captain made a quick u-turn and got the heck out of dodge. The hail and rain left us alone, and we made it back safely.

Oh. . .yes. . .I forgot something, didn't I? After all, we were on a whale watch. And, yes, we saw a whole bunch of whales. It was thrilling to see such giant creatures so close to our boat. We saw a bunch of Humpbacks, two Fin whale and a couple of Minkes.

The problem with a story about a whale watch, though, is that the photos fail to capture even one-fifth of the excitement and coolness of it all. I mean, can you really get excited over this?

And, how about this shot? I think the whale had just gone on a dive.

Oh, but I did get a little tail. Can you ooooo and ahhhhh for me? What, you can't see the tail?!?! It is that little black line sticking out of the water.

And here is momma and daughter, post-whale sighting but pre-hail.

For you, my dear, I will go to the ends of the earth, or at least a few miles out to sea. Stay tuned for our next big adventure.

Diarrhea of the Mouth?

You know it's gotta be true when your not-yet-6 year old says to you, "Curt Schilling sure likes to talk, huh Mom?"

[But get well soon Curt!]

Plymouth

We were thinking of taking the girls to Plymouth Rock and were wondering what else there was to do in the vicinity as well as any good local resteraunts. I don't want to spend an hour and a half in the car just to visit the rock :P

I found the little cretin

I've been awakened night after night by this noise. Go ahead and click it. And listen. Because that is the sound of me losing my freaking little mind. I love flora and fauna as much as the next person, if not more. I love living in a streetcar suburb on more than an acre of land, so that we have rather extensive wildlife. Heck, we even have a fox den on our cliff. We have bunnies and raccoons, chipmunks and squirrels, skunks and maybe even coyotes.

We also have birds. Way to many freaking birds. They make so much noise, our little New England birds. Every morning at exactly 4:30 am, there is a cacaphony of birdies singing their little hearts out. Don't know about you, but 4:30 is NOT when I want to be accompanied by birds.

That guy, that mockingbird. He sings at night. I scream at him to shut up because he apparently likes the tree right outside my bedroom window. He studiously ignores my pleas. He is not a nice bird.

However, he is nicer than the two piliated woodpeckers we have around back. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap... ad nauseum.

So what about your neighborhood? Are you overrun with wildlife this summer?

Today, I am nervous.

Today, I will be checking in hourly with Ryan's Take.

For those not in the know, today is the day of the Seventeenth Constitutional Convention here in Massachusetts. The one where it is decided whether basic civil rights should be at the mercy of voters. Whether we should literally be voting on whether to take away people's civil rights. Whether gay people should be allowed the right of marriage.

Pardon my language, but HOW FUCKING BACKWARDS IS THIS?

My position on this has not changed since I wrote this.

I'm in knots, here. Excuse me while I go and be ill.

FINAL RESULT!!! RELIEF, HAPPINESS...GRATITUDE!!!

Go Sox!

This is what happens when the father takes the son to the barber for a "summer haircut"...

BBQ on City Hall Plaza

Is anyone else going to brave City Hall plaza for the Phantom Gourmet Beach Party BBQ? We got tickets through a friend, and we're going. But I've heard that it's better to have a large-ish party of at least 6 so you can share the sampler plates from all the different vendors. We're all big fans of the Phantom, despite the fact that we've probably never eaten at 99% of the restaurants they review. But the food looks so GOOD. I'm always starving by the end of the show!

I personally think it sucks that you have to buy the food as well as the ticket, which is why they say to get a big party together. Then you don't spend anywhere near as much and you get to sample much more.

So, if you're going and are a small party, wanna get together?

Summer Vacation

Today marked the first day of summer vacation for us. So far, we have no real plans except working on our yard (a never ending project), hitting the beach, visiting the park and letterboxing. Just taking it easy and relaxing - just like summer vacation should be!

When are your kids finished and what are your plans?

Here are your badges! MORE added!

You get the absolute first look at these. I think there's something for everyone here.

Have fun! Can't wait to see these spread across the blogosphere.

No more wonder of it all. Halle-freakin'-lujah.

How long has Foxwoods been a casino? Ten years? More? I don't know and their website was very unforthcoming.

But tonight, I saw a commercial that warmed the cockles of my cold, bitter heart - they FINALLY have a new commercial. They seem to have done away with that oh-so-annoying jingle they had (you know the one I'm talking about, it's a friggin' ear worm of a tune, drives me MENTAL, which, in my current sleep-deprived state, is not a good thing. At all.)

I just had to mention here, where people will most likely understand.

Now if those damned Bob's Furniture commercials would just go away, I'd be one happy little camper.

What a game last night!

Did you guys watch the Sox game last night? It was, shall we say, exciting. Shilling was the starter, and he wasn't in top form. If you read his blog, the first line of his post told the story. "It was hot. I sucked. We still won." You know, I just do not know how they can even play serious ball in weather like that. Think about it. I'm just wanting to sit right in front of the AC drinking chilly Mojitos and hoping for a storm to blow out the humidity, and these guys are playing ball in the sun. They work for their money.

Anyhow, Sox are up, then the Yankees are tied, then they're up, then we are WAY up, and Mienty gets hurt and is carried off the field, making the entire frigging Evil Empire on the DL list (I'm totally loving it!) and Paps closes with pizazz. We're back up 13.5 games on the Pinheads, and we're playing today. Joe Torre looks dyspeptic, even more than usual. His team sucks. They even called Damon up as the DH later on, and he's on the DL too. I look at him and I feel nothing but disgust for the traitor.

It was a great game, even with the rain delay, which enabled me to get in a half hour of This Old House!

My boys couldn't look better. Even with Shill at his worst after the delay, they are just shining stars. I think this might be our year, pooh pooh pooh.

I am a VERY bad girl

You know how when the middle of May rolls around you start seeing all these "Are you going to Blogher?" posts. And posts that tell you that you won't feel weird going even if you don't know anyone. Posts that talk about how much fun it was last year (and the year before) and how great the cocktail party is, and how everyone was kissing everyone else?

Every other blog you read has a button that says "I'm going to Blogher" or "I'm speaking at Blogher" and you kinda feel left out, right?

And you're sitting there reading this stuff and thinking "There is no freaking way I can afford to go to Blogher." Yeah, me too. None. Plane fare, conference tickets, hotel rooms, food.... it all ads up to a 3 day weekend that could cost $1500. Totally out of my price range.

So, because I'm a terrible person and a misanthrope, I made a button for the rest of us. The people that aren't going, can't afford to go, but still want to be noticed.

I already put it up on my blog. I'm not going to say anything. I'm just going to wait until someone notices. Because I'm bad like that!

If you want to borrow the button, go right ahead. I am going to make a second one that says "I"m not going to Blogher" later. If you want that one, let me know.

:-)