We ventured into new territory this year. The Easter Bunny made a stop at our house. When the family was coming for Christmas, I checked with my sister to see what Santa's traditions were. I wanted to make sure Santa was consistent between Ohio and New York. Santa does not wrap presents in NY, so I had to make sure he didn't wrap them in Ohio either.
I forgot to ask my sister what was expected of the Easter Bunny. I bought plastic Easter eggs, and a roll of stickers and some fun size packages of M&M's. But I didn't know if the Easter Bunny was supposed to have a gift for her here too. I wrapped all their Easter gifts before my family arrived. I asked my Mom, but she didn't know either. So I asked Sydney about the Easter Bunny. She told me he would bring Easter eggs and hide them, and she had to find them. Ok, I could handle that!
I forgot that Sydney is her mother's daughter in so many ways, one of which is that she's a snoop. When I was cleaning in preparation for their visit, I hid the packages of plastic Easter eggs in one of the drawers in the dresser in the guest room (aka Syd's room). I had cleared out the bottom two drawers for Sydney's clothes, and I didn't think she'd look in the other drawers. Like I said, I forgot she's a snoop!
Tuesday night we colored Easter eggs. I had looked at all the egg coloring kits at the store, and there were too many options. I couldn't decide. So many kits had glitter, and I knew I didn't want glitter all over my house. So I decided we would color eggs the old fashioned way: with food coloring, vinegar and water. I had neon food coloring, as well as red, green, and yellow (for Christmas cookies). I cooked 8 eggs, but one shell split while cooking so the dogs enjoyed that. Sydney loved creating her own colors. She took a drop of this, and a drop of that, and was like a mad chemist as she mixed her colors. I thought they were going to be the ugliest eggs, but they turned out very pretty. She did each one a different color. Erich helped her color the eggs. He was so patient, and so good with her.
On Tuesday night I realized Wednesday was their last day here, so I went into her room when she was occupied, took the Easter eggs out of the drawer, and put them in a bag in my room. I told my mom I'd take them downstairs to fill that night. A few minutes later, Sydney and I were playing in her room. Out of the blue she said 'There's Easter eggs in one of those drawers!' I played dumb, so she decided to show me. She stood up, opened the drawer, and let out a gasp. "They aren't here!" She turned and looked at me accusingly, "Where did they go?" I told her I didn't even know there were eggs in there. She looked like she was trying to decide if she could believe me. I told her if there were eggs in there, the Easter Bunny must have come in and taken them.
At this point, Sydney excitedly fell to her knees on the floor, and squealed 'I see bunny prints!' She pointed to imaginary bunny footprints on the carpet, and tracked the bunny through the room. I was trying, without much success, to keep a straight face. Tears were filling my eyes. She lost the trail of the bunny in the hallway, and came back in wanting to know why his prints didn't go down to the front door. 'How did he get in? How did he get out?' Her imagination is so active, and she's such a smart child, it's hard to stay a step or two ahead of her. I told her 'He must have hopped in through your window'.
She spun around to the window, and decided that yes, he had come in through the window. But wait! "The window is closed". She looked at me with those piercing blue eyes again, her hands on her hips. "Why in the world would he close the window?" I told her "The Easter Bunny is a very neat house guest. He comes in, does what he needs to do, and leaves. He leaves everything the way it was, so you'd never know he was here". This explanation satisfied her, and she went back to playing with her toys.
That night, after she had gone to bed, I sat up stuffing Easter Eggs. I took the roll of stickers and cut it into smaller parts, so I could fill most of the eggs with stickers. I had two different sizes of eggs- 24 in all. I filled six eggs with packages of M&Ms (I didn't want to give her too much candy). Then I was at a loss. I had 6 eggs left to fill, and nothing to put in them. I remember my mom putting money in eggs for Syd a couple of years ago. So I put 50 cents into four eggs, and put a $1 bill in the remaining two eggs. I put all the eggs in a bag, and hid them from Snoop, Jr. The next morning, before we left to go shopping, I handed the bag to Erich and asked him to assist while we were out.
We were planning to see Hop on Wednesday afternoon. I checked movie times online, and the first movie started at 12:45. We went to Kohls, and then to the movie theater. We got there at 12:30, and there weren't any other cars in the parking lot. I didn't think that was odd- the theater isn't busy, and schools here were not on spring break. We got out of the car, Sydney skipping to the door as she held my hand, and on the door was a sign that said the theater opens at 4:30 M-W, the first show is at 4:45. We were crushed. Well, Sydney was crushed and we had to try to explain it to her.
We came home to get lunch. She was barely through the door when she spotted an Easter egg. The dogs were barking like crazy (as they always do when someone comes in the door). The Easter egg lifted her mood, and then she saw another. She went into orbit. 'The Easter Bunny came! The Easter Bunny came!' I handed her a basket that had conveniently been left on the table, and she started filling it. She had to open each egg as she found it, and then she put it into her basket. I told her 'this must be why the dogs were barking so much' and she said 'ya, cuz they saw the Easter Bunny!' There was an egg 'hidden' in the picture window behind the couch, and as she reached for that egg, she squealed and pointed outside 'Look! I see Easter Bunny prints!' Erich had gone to the store, and he came home in the middle of the egg hunt. She knew Erich had been here when we left, so she asked him if he saw the Easter Bunny. Erich said he didn't. She decided the Easter Bunny must have been waiting for all of us to leave so he could come hide eggs. The Easter Bunny did a good job, hiding eggs all over the house, even in the upstairs bathroom.
Sydney wanted to know why we were having an indoor Easter Egg hunt. I told her it had rained so much lately it wasn't nice to be outside (which was true!). In her bed, her doll Ruby was snuggled up with an egg in her hands. Sydney picked her up and said 'Ruby? Did you see the Easter Bunny?' She then asked my dolls and bears if they all saw the Easter Bunny. She was absolutely giddy. After she collected all the eggs, she came downstairs to look over her loot. Each egg had to be opened again, and everyone had to watch to see what was in the eggs. As she opened the eggs with money, she yelled 'Yay! Money, money, money! I love money!'
The Easter Egg hunt sort of took her mind off HOP. She told her mom she didn't get to see it, and Laura told her that her daddy wanted to see it, so he would take her (and he did, on Friday). After she found all the eggs, we had to hide them again and find them again. We did this for hours. Then we played egg races, where we held an egg on a spoon and walked around. I did ok with plastic eggs, I never did well using real eggs. She entertained herself all afternoon with those plastic Easter eggs.
She also felt we needed to hide eggs for the Easter Bunny. She said you hide the eggs you colored so the Easter Bunny could find them. She took the egg carton full of colored eggs out of the frig, trying to hide them, and I kept having to create reasons why she couldn't hide them, and struggled to get the carton away from her and back into the frig. I was afraid she would hide an egg and not remember where it was, and we wouldn't find it until it had started to smell! I also didn't want the dogs eating the eggs. They love eggs, and I know they would have eaten the shells and all.
I'm getting very good at this Aunt thing. First Santa, now the Easter Bunny. I guess the next thing we'll have to address is the tooth fairy! Hopefully, she won't have to visit Ohio!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Welcome to the Midwest
I try to make my guests feel welcome. Fresh linens, a refrigerator stuffed with food they like, their favorite beverages on hand. This year Mother Nature helped with the welcome, making sure Mom and Dad and Sydney had the full Midwest experience.
Spring in the Midwest can be beautiful. The flowers and budding trees put on a colorful and fragrant show. But it can also be a deadly time. The mix of warm and cool create powerful storms, and in some cases tornadoes.
Several nights Mom and Dad were here we had thunderstorms. The storms would roll in after dark. Some of them my Mom slept through, and some she didn't. It rained most of the day Tuesday, and the weatherman said there was a chance for severe weather Tuesday night. I kept checking the weather online, watching the storms march across Illinois and Indiana. Facebook is helpful with this- my friends who live 3 or 4 hours west were posting things about storms, so I knew what was headed our way. Everyone else went to bed. I watched the 11:00 pm news, and the weatherman said they would be staying in the studio all night. He expected that in an hour or two the weather would be in our area. I watched some other tv, and dozed a little on the couch. Around 12:45 I remembered what they said about the severe weather. I turned back to the local ABC station, and they were in non-stop weather coverage. The storms were just starting to move into Ohio. As the storms moved into the western part of our county, they showed rotational properties. We went under a tornado warning. Yet it wasn't even raining outside my house. I know better than to think it's a false alarm. I watched the weather for about half an hour, debating whether I should wake the rest of the house. I didn't want to wake them and alarm everyone for nothing. But I also didn't want to wait and then have to hurry everyone to the first floor. When the weatherman called his daughter who is a student at Miami University (about half an hour away) and told her to get to her safe place, my decision was made.
I went upstairs and woke my parents, and then Erich. I told them all they needed to come downstairs because we had a tornado warning. Then I went into Syd's room. I didn't want to startle her, or scare her, so I just scooped her up with her baby doll and carried her downstairs. Mom brought her blankets. She woke up when we got downstairs, and asked my mom why I had taken her out of bed. Mom told her we had bad weather outside. Sydney asked 'Tornadoes?' and Mom told her possibly.
Mom settled in on the couch, with Sydney in her arms. Dad pulled a chair up in front of the tv to watch it. He wanted to know what to watch for, and where we were on the map. I showed him where Middletown is, and told him if they start naming streets in the area, or talking about people in Middletown to take cover, then we needed to get into the closets. Erich and I went to work cleaning out the closets. We don't have a basement. So our safe spots are the two closets under the stairs- one is in the living room, the other is the pantry in the kitchen. The problem of course, is that both closets are full. The pantry is big enough for Erich and I and the dogs, so I have it set up so you can easily clean it out. I have two carts with shelves on the floor. They provide storage, but you can move the whole cart fairly easily if you need to. Sure, they are heavy. But the adrenaline kicks in and you don't realize it. I bought the carts a couple of years ago, when we had another tornado warning and we spent a great deal of time moving everything out of the pantry. I decided we were wasting valuable time, and bought the carts (which don't have wheels, so I guess they aren't really carts), so we can store food in them, and move them when we need to. The living room closet is full of coats, Christmas decorations, the vacuum cleaner and steam cleaner, and other miscellaneous stuff that gets thrown in. Cleaning out this closet for storm preparation made me realize I have too many coats and jackets, and I need to hoe out this closet!
I put the collars and leashes on both dogs. It's easier to handle them and make them go where I want them to if they are leashed. I've learned this from past experience too. When we'd get into the pantry to wait out the storm and the dog would go back to the living room. I grabbed a cold water out of the frig for each of us, and stacked all the extra pillows and blankets close by. Mom and Dad both have bad knees; Mom has had surgery on both her knees, and Dad totally blew out his leg 4 years ago and had to have every muscle reconstructed. I asked them 'can you get into the closet if we have to?' and they both agreed they could. Erich couldn't get his Mom on the phone (his Dad was in the hospital at the time), so he went next door to wake her and help her. Just as he left, it started pouring. The wind was howling, and then the thunder and lightening kicked in.
Sydney curled up on Mom's lap, wrapped in blankets and terrified. Mom was terrified too, but she was also being a Mom/Grandma and protecting Sydney. The tornado sirens went off. Mom and Dad looked at me and said 'Now?' I told them no, not yet. The sirens go off when you are under a tornado watch and have a severe thunderstorm. I told them to keep watching the radar on tv, and listen to the weatherman. If he said to take cover, we would head for the closets: Mom, Dad & Sydney to the living room, the dogs and I to the pantry. As we watched, it seemed the storm was going to miss us. After about half an hour, we could see the worst of the storms were to our east, and we had escaped without damage, and without having to get into the closet.
Sydney told mom she wanted to sleep with them. Mom agreed. Everyone went back to bed. I watched some mindless tv to keep my mind off things. It was a very short night, we were up at 6:30 or so the next morning. We called my sister first thing. I know sometimes she has the TV on as she gets ready, and we didn't want her to worry. Mom told her it was very scary, but that Erich and I remained calm throughout it. I was surprised to hear this. During the tornado warning, I didn't feel calm. My heart was pounding in my chest. But I knew what we had to do. I've lived in the Midwest for the better part of 17 years, and this is part of spring.
Looking back on those years, I've come a long way. I remember my first tornado warning. It was during my freshman year at Hanover. I was walking back to my dorm after dinner with friends, and we heard sirens. I looked around, wondering what on earth that noise was, and people started running towards buildings. We went to Crowe Hall, one of the guys dorms. We all crowded in the basement. I was a quivering, crying, hysterical mess. Others didn't understand why I was so upset. One of my friends explained I was from NY. Someone asked 'Didn't you have tornado drills in school?' I told them no, we don't have tornadoes in NY. (Not completely true, but they are extremely rare in NY). My first few years in the Midwest echoed this experience: the word tornado drove fear right through me. I'm still afraid of them now, but I know what precautions to take. I know how to ready my home and my family, and I hope that staying alert and doing what I need to do will keep us safe.
The next night before bed, Sydney asked if we were going to have more tornadoes. I told her no. We would have rain, but no tornadoes. She asked how I knew that. Poor little kid. I know it had been a terrifying experience for her. I told her the weatherman said it would be ok tonight, and she said that was good. She didn't want me to wake her up so she could watch the news! That is what she took away from the experience- that we had to get up in the middle of the night to watch the 'news'.
Spring in the Midwest can be beautiful. The flowers and budding trees put on a colorful and fragrant show. But it can also be a deadly time. The mix of warm and cool create powerful storms, and in some cases tornadoes.
Several nights Mom and Dad were here we had thunderstorms. The storms would roll in after dark. Some of them my Mom slept through, and some she didn't. It rained most of the day Tuesday, and the weatherman said there was a chance for severe weather Tuesday night. I kept checking the weather online, watching the storms march across Illinois and Indiana. Facebook is helpful with this- my friends who live 3 or 4 hours west were posting things about storms, so I knew what was headed our way. Everyone else went to bed. I watched the 11:00 pm news, and the weatherman said they would be staying in the studio all night. He expected that in an hour or two the weather would be in our area. I watched some other tv, and dozed a little on the couch. Around 12:45 I remembered what they said about the severe weather. I turned back to the local ABC station, and they were in non-stop weather coverage. The storms were just starting to move into Ohio. As the storms moved into the western part of our county, they showed rotational properties. We went under a tornado warning. Yet it wasn't even raining outside my house. I know better than to think it's a false alarm. I watched the weather for about half an hour, debating whether I should wake the rest of the house. I didn't want to wake them and alarm everyone for nothing. But I also didn't want to wait and then have to hurry everyone to the first floor. When the weatherman called his daughter who is a student at Miami University (about half an hour away) and told her to get to her safe place, my decision was made.
I went upstairs and woke my parents, and then Erich. I told them all they needed to come downstairs because we had a tornado warning. Then I went into Syd's room. I didn't want to startle her, or scare her, so I just scooped her up with her baby doll and carried her downstairs. Mom brought her blankets. She woke up when we got downstairs, and asked my mom why I had taken her out of bed. Mom told her we had bad weather outside. Sydney asked 'Tornadoes?' and Mom told her possibly.
Mom settled in on the couch, with Sydney in her arms. Dad pulled a chair up in front of the tv to watch it. He wanted to know what to watch for, and where we were on the map. I showed him where Middletown is, and told him if they start naming streets in the area, or talking about people in Middletown to take cover, then we needed to get into the closets. Erich and I went to work cleaning out the closets. We don't have a basement. So our safe spots are the two closets under the stairs- one is in the living room, the other is the pantry in the kitchen. The problem of course, is that both closets are full. The pantry is big enough for Erich and I and the dogs, so I have it set up so you can easily clean it out. I have two carts with shelves on the floor. They provide storage, but you can move the whole cart fairly easily if you need to. Sure, they are heavy. But the adrenaline kicks in and you don't realize it. I bought the carts a couple of years ago, when we had another tornado warning and we spent a great deal of time moving everything out of the pantry. I decided we were wasting valuable time, and bought the carts (which don't have wheels, so I guess they aren't really carts), so we can store food in them, and move them when we need to. The living room closet is full of coats, Christmas decorations, the vacuum cleaner and steam cleaner, and other miscellaneous stuff that gets thrown in. Cleaning out this closet for storm preparation made me realize I have too many coats and jackets, and I need to hoe out this closet!
I put the collars and leashes on both dogs. It's easier to handle them and make them go where I want them to if they are leashed. I've learned this from past experience too. When we'd get into the pantry to wait out the storm and the dog would go back to the living room. I grabbed a cold water out of the frig for each of us, and stacked all the extra pillows and blankets close by. Mom and Dad both have bad knees; Mom has had surgery on both her knees, and Dad totally blew out his leg 4 years ago and had to have every muscle reconstructed. I asked them 'can you get into the closet if we have to?' and they both agreed they could. Erich couldn't get his Mom on the phone (his Dad was in the hospital at the time), so he went next door to wake her and help her. Just as he left, it started pouring. The wind was howling, and then the thunder and lightening kicked in.
Sydney curled up on Mom's lap, wrapped in blankets and terrified. Mom was terrified too, but she was also being a Mom/Grandma and protecting Sydney. The tornado sirens went off. Mom and Dad looked at me and said 'Now?' I told them no, not yet. The sirens go off when you are under a tornado watch and have a severe thunderstorm. I told them to keep watching the radar on tv, and listen to the weatherman. If he said to take cover, we would head for the closets: Mom, Dad & Sydney to the living room, the dogs and I to the pantry. As we watched, it seemed the storm was going to miss us. After about half an hour, we could see the worst of the storms were to our east, and we had escaped without damage, and without having to get into the closet.
Sydney told mom she wanted to sleep with them. Mom agreed. Everyone went back to bed. I watched some mindless tv to keep my mind off things. It was a very short night, we were up at 6:30 or so the next morning. We called my sister first thing. I know sometimes she has the TV on as she gets ready, and we didn't want her to worry. Mom told her it was very scary, but that Erich and I remained calm throughout it. I was surprised to hear this. During the tornado warning, I didn't feel calm. My heart was pounding in my chest. But I knew what we had to do. I've lived in the Midwest for the better part of 17 years, and this is part of spring.
Looking back on those years, I've come a long way. I remember my first tornado warning. It was during my freshman year at Hanover. I was walking back to my dorm after dinner with friends, and we heard sirens. I looked around, wondering what on earth that noise was, and people started running towards buildings. We went to Crowe Hall, one of the guys dorms. We all crowded in the basement. I was a quivering, crying, hysterical mess. Others didn't understand why I was so upset. One of my friends explained I was from NY. Someone asked 'Didn't you have tornado drills in school?' I told them no, we don't have tornadoes in NY. (Not completely true, but they are extremely rare in NY). My first few years in the Midwest echoed this experience: the word tornado drove fear right through me. I'm still afraid of them now, but I know what precautions to take. I know how to ready my home and my family, and I hope that staying alert and doing what I need to do will keep us safe.
The next night before bed, Sydney asked if we were going to have more tornadoes. I told her no. We would have rain, but no tornadoes. She asked how I knew that. Poor little kid. I know it had been a terrifying experience for her. I told her the weatherman said it would be ok tonight, and she said that was good. She didn't want me to wake her up so she could watch the news! That is what she took away from the experience- that we had to get up in the middle of the night to watch the 'news'.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The Cincinnati Zoo
Sydney wanted to see Polar Bears. She loves Polar Bears. Originally, I thought we would go to Columbus Zoo, because they have a new Polar Bear feature. I checked both Cincinnati Zoo and Columbus Zoo, and found that the Cincinnati Zoo also has polar bears, so there really was no point to drive twice as far and go to Columbus. Plus, the Cincinnati Zoo had a baby giraffe, who was born a couple weeks ago. So we decided to go to Cincinnati.
Looking at the weather forecast for the week, we knew our only chance to get to the Zoo was Monday. Rain was forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. My brother-in-law had gotten on the computer and showed Syd videos of the baby giraffe. She was very excited, and she knew all about the giraffe. I don't know if she was more excited to see the giraffe or the polar bears!
We left Monday morning, stopping at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then it was off to the zoo. The zoo is also a botanical garden, and it was done up with the most beautiful tulip beds throughout the zoo. The zoo is also very hilly, and you find yourself walking up or down a hill all day. We took Syd's stroller, and my poor dad pushed it all over the zoo. Inclines really hurt both of my parents' knees, and I know they were both hurting by the end of the day.
We went into the eagle area, and the eagle was right in front of us, just on the other side of the gate. Sydney wanted to see everything. We all refused to take her into the reptile house. But she wanted to go in the insect house. This child screams at anything she thinks is a bug, yet she wanted to go into the insect house. My mother said no. Dad looked at me. So I went with her into the insect house. And what is the first thing we see? A tarantula. I felt light-headed. For those who don't know, I HATE SPIDERS. I am terrified of them. Just the night before, I looked up from the computer and saw one the size of my thumb on the door. Normally, I would yell until Erich came downstairs (he calls it my spider yell). Since my parents and Syd were all asleep upstairs, I went upstairs, knocked on Erich's door, and told him to come downstairs. Another morning, I was headed down the stairs and I froze, because I spotted a small spider on the wall. Dad looked up, sighed, and grabbed a kleenex. I told him 'some things never change'. So here I am, in the insect house, staring at a tarantula. Yes, it's behind glass. And no, that is no comfort to me. I urge Syd to get to the next cage. She goes up to each glass cage, fascinated by all the creepy crawling things. My skin crawls just thinking of it. There was a boy her age who ran away crying 'I don't like all these bugs!' But it didn't bother Syd.
After we finished the insect house, she wanted to go into the nocturnal house. My parents were taking a much needed rest, so I went with her. The last time I was at the Cincinnati Zoo was in 2002. Laura and Andy had come to visit, and we went to the zoo. The guys wanted to go into the nocturnal house, and Andy convinced my sister to go. She did ok until she saw the bats. Then she grabbed my hand. When my sister saw the vampire bats, she screamed and froze. She wanted to get out of there, but could not make her legs move. I had to drag her out of the nocturnal house. With this memory in mind, I took Syd into the nocturnal house. The bats didn't bother her. She grabbed my hand, but she didn't scream. We did leave kind of quickly though, because it was too dark for her. She had told me before we went in that she was only a little scared of the dark.
Connected to the nocturnal house is the Dragons exhibit. This is where the Komodo Dragons are. She said she didn't want to go, but changed her mind when I explained to her that they were basically big lizards. Lizards don't bother her. I also decided she had dragged me into the insect house, she was going in the dragon house! The Komodo Dragon wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. Maybe because it was indoors, not outside that day. I wasn't able to get any good pictures of it. Maybe if it were outdoors and I could have gotten pictures, it would have seemed more interesting.
The Zoo has a Carousel and playground, and Sydney found both. She told me she wanted to ride the carousel alone. Fortunately, she was almost tall enough, and the girl operating the carousel said she was ok (she was less than an inch below the 'you must be this tall' line). You would think she got on the polar bear, but no, she hopped on the giraffe. Giraffes might be her new favorite animal. She loves carousels. When the carousel ride ended, she told Dad 'there's a playground over there!' and off we went. It gave my parents and I a chance to sit down, and she played. There were two girls who were maybe 8 trying to go up the slide from the bottom, and when Syd slid down it she hit them. So she told them they were wrong, you were supposed to slide down it, not walk up it. She kept reporting back to us, and finally, the girls did it the right way.
We saw rhinos (which Sydney kept telling us were pregnant), tigers, zebras, and finally- we were at the bear section. One of the polar bears was swimming, and you could see into the pool from below the water level, so she got to see the polar bear in the water. There were others playing, and she had a great time watching the polar bears. Once she had her fill of them, she wanted to go to the giraffes. We took a short train ride. Anyone can ride the train, but it's hard to fold yourself into the seat if you are an adult. The train takes you over some of the exhibits, and you find yourself looking down onto the zebras. You are on this rickety wooden bridge, with no railing on one side. The narrative says the train was put in shortly after the zoo opened in 1875. You can really believe it has been there that long, and the bridge has too. It was a pleasant trip though. Sydney said she chose it because she thought we all needed a break.
We kept asking her if she wanted an ice cream. It was about 75, and mostly cloudy. When the sun came out it got hot, and of course all the walking was exhausting. Every time we asked her about ice cream, she turned us down. She may have been the only child saying no to ice cream.
Finally, we made our way to the giraffe exhibit. There was a line to see Zuri, the 16 day old giraffe. It was also giraffe feeding time, and there was a line to feed Kimba, the daddy giraffe. The mom and baby were in the giraffe house. You looked in through a window to see them. The giraffe house is very tall, obviously, to house all the giraffes. The viewing window is near the ceiling of the house, so you look down onto the giraffes. There really wasn't any way to take pictures, because you were shooting into glass, and there was such a crowd. Sydney decided she didn't like the name Zuri, so she renamed the baby giraffe Athena. She has a new friend at school named Athena.
We wanted to feed the daddy giraffe, and as we were finishing up looking at mommy and baby, they announced last call for feeding. Sydney and I rushed to the feeding line. The giraffe exhibit is set up so that you are at the same level as the giraffe's heads- it's a tree top exhibit. A very different perspective, normally you find yourself looking up at the giraffes. We bought our crackers- $1 bought you one cracker, which was roughly the size of a saltine. Mom bought us each one. We had been busy looking at the baby, so I did not hear them say how to feed the daddy. I turned to ask the zookeeper, and Kimba took the cracker right out of my hand. People had been feeding him for an hour, and he acted like he was starved. I felt something slimy on my hand, and when I turned my head, the cracker was gone and I was eye to eye with an adult giraffe. I had expected to still be looking up a little. It was so unusual to look a giraffe in the eye. It was easy to forget tha
t this is a wild animal. His big brown eyes were soft and gentle, yet had a playful sparkle in them. His eyes were framed by the most luxurious eyelashes. I can see why they said 'do not pet the giraffe'. Because you wanted to. You wanted to reach out and stroke his long soft nose. It was a moment I wanted to freeze forever.
Sydney did have to reach up to the giraffe, but he was gentle with her too. He took the cracker out of her hand very quickly, causing her to erupt in giggles. There are few moments that take your breath away. Looking a giraffe in the eye was one of them for me. It was so sweet, so perfect. Even though it was just a brief encounter, I felt it all the way through my soul. If you go to the zoo, I highly recommend you go to the giraffe exhibit at feeding time. It was amazing.
We finished our trip with a visit to the elephants. By this point, the three adults were dragging. Sydney seemed a little tired, and we hoped she would take a nap in the car. She didn't. She played quietly with the new toys she bought at the gift shop, but she didn't sleep. That night, when she talked to her parents, they asked 'what did you do today?' and she told them 'nothing'. Then she did tell them she saw the baby giraffe and fed the daddy. She'll have a lot to tell her friends when she goes back to school. It was a great day at the zoo!
Looking at the weather forecast for the week, we knew our only chance to get to the Zoo was Monday. Rain was forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. My brother-in-law had gotten on the computer and showed Syd videos of the baby giraffe. She was very excited, and she knew all about the giraffe. I don't know if she was more excited to see the giraffe or the polar bears!
We left Monday morning, stopping at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then it was off to the zoo. The zoo is also a botanical garden, and it was done up with the most beautiful tulip beds throughout the zoo. The zoo is also very hilly, and you find yourself walking up or down a hill all day. We took Syd's stroller, and my poor dad pushed it all over the zoo. Inclines really hurt both of my parents' knees, and I know they were both hurting by the end of the day.
We went into the eagle area, and the eagle was right in front of us, just on the other side of the gate. Sydney wanted to see everything. We all refused to take her into the reptile house. But she wanted to go in the insect house. This child screams at anything she thinks is a bug, yet she wanted to go into the insect house. My mother said no. Dad looked at me. So I went with her into the insect house. And what is the first thing we see? A tarantula. I felt light-headed. For those who don't know, I HATE SPIDERS. I am terrified of them. Just the night before, I looked up from the computer and saw one the size of my thumb on the door. Normally, I would yell until Erich came downstairs (he calls it my spider yell). Since my parents and Syd were all asleep upstairs, I went upstairs, knocked on Erich's door, and told him to come downstairs. Another morning, I was headed down the stairs and I froze, because I spotted a small spider on the wall. Dad looked up, sighed, and grabbed a kleenex. I told him 'some things never change'. So here I am, in the insect house, staring at a tarantula. Yes, it's behind glass. And no, that is no comfort to me. I urge Syd to get to the next cage. She goes up to each glass cage, fascinated by all the creepy crawling things. My skin crawls just thinking of it. There was a boy her age who ran away crying 'I don't like all these bugs!' But it didn't bother Syd.
After we finished the insect house, she wanted to go into the nocturnal house. My parents were taking a much needed rest, so I went with her. The last time I was at the Cincinnati Zoo was in 2002. Laura and Andy had come to visit, and we went to the zoo. The guys wanted to go into the nocturnal house, and Andy convinced my sister to go. She did ok until she saw the bats. Then she grabbed my hand. When my sister saw the vampire bats, she screamed and froze. She wanted to get out of there, but could not make her legs move. I had to drag her out of the nocturnal house. With this memory in mind, I took Syd into the nocturnal house. The bats didn't bother her. She grabbed my hand, but she didn't scream. We did leave kind of quickly though, because it was too dark for her. She had told me before we went in that she was only a little scared of the dark.
Connected to the nocturnal house is the Dragons exhibit. This is where the Komodo Dragons are. She said she didn't want to go, but changed her mind when I explained to her that they were basically big lizards. Lizards don't bother her. I also decided she had dragged me into the insect house, she was going in the dragon house! The Komodo Dragon wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. Maybe because it was indoors, not outside that day. I wasn't able to get any good pictures of it. Maybe if it were outdoors and I could have gotten pictures, it would have seemed more interesting.
The Zoo has a Carousel and playground, and Sydney found both. She told me she wanted to ride the carousel alone. Fortunately, she was almost tall enough, and the girl operating the carousel said she was ok (she was less than an inch below the 'you must be this tall' line). You would think she got on the polar bear, but no, she hopped on the giraffe. Giraffes might be her new favorite animal. She loves carousels. When the carousel ride ended, she told Dad 'there's a playground over there!' and off we went. It gave my parents and I a chance to sit down, and she played. There were two girls who were maybe 8 trying to go up the slide from the bottom, and when Syd slid down it she hit them. So she told them they were wrong, you were supposed to slide down it, not walk up it. She kept reporting back to us, and finally, the girls did it the right way.
We saw rhinos (which Sydney kept telling us were pregnant), tigers, zebras, and finally- we were at the bear section. One of the polar bears was swimming, and you could see into the pool from below the water level, so she got to see the polar bear in the water. There were others playing, and she had a great time watching the polar bears. Once she had her fill of them, she wanted to go to the giraffes. We took a short train ride. Anyone can ride the train, but it's hard to fold yourself into the seat if you are an adult. The train takes you over some of the exhibits, and you find yourself looking down onto the zebras. You are on this rickety wooden bridge, with no railing on one side. The narrative says the train was put in shortly after the zoo opened in 1875. You can really believe it has been there that long, and the bridge has too. It was a pleasant trip though. Sydney said she chose it because she thought we all needed a break.
We kept asking her if she wanted an ice cream. It was about 75, and mostly cloudy. When the sun came out it got hot, and of course all the walking was exhausting. Every time we asked her about ice cream, she turned us down. She may have been the only child saying no to ice cream.
Finally, we made our way to the giraffe exhibit. There was a line to see Zuri, the 16 day old giraffe. It was also giraffe feeding time, and there was a line to feed Kimba, the daddy giraffe. The mom and baby were in the giraffe house. You looked in through a window to see them. The giraffe house is very tall, obviously, to house all the giraffes. The viewing window is near the ceiling of the house, so you look down onto the giraffes. There really wasn't any way to take pictures, because you were shooting into glass, and there was such a crowd. Sydney decided she didn't like the name Zuri, so she renamed the baby giraffe Athena. She has a new friend at school named Athena.
We wanted to feed the daddy giraffe, and as we were finishing up looking at mommy and baby, they announced last call for feeding. Sydney and I rushed to the feeding line. The giraffe exhibit is set up so that you are at the same level as the giraffe's heads- it's a tree top exhibit. A very different perspective, normally you find yourself looking up at the giraffes. We bought our crackers- $1 bought you one cracker, which was roughly the size of a saltine. Mom bought us each one. We had been busy looking at the baby, so I did not hear them say how to feed the daddy. I turned to ask the zookeeper, and Kimba took the cracker right out of my hand. People had been feeding him for an hour, and he acted like he was starved. I felt something slimy on my hand, and when I turned my head, the cracker was gone and I was eye to eye with an adult giraffe. I had expected to still be looking up a little. It was so unusual to look a giraffe in the eye. It was easy to forget tha
t this is a wild animal. His big brown eyes were soft and gentle, yet had a playful sparkle in them. His eyes were framed by the most luxurious eyelashes. I can see why they said 'do not pet the giraffe'. Because you wanted to. You wanted to reach out and stroke his long soft nose. It was a moment I wanted to freeze forever.Sydney did have to reach up to the giraffe, but he was gentle with her too. He took the cracker out of her hand very quickly, causing her to erupt in giggles. There are few moments that take your breath away. Looking a giraffe in the eye was one of them for me. It was so sweet, so perfect. Even though it was just a brief encounter, I felt it all the way through my soul. If you go to the zoo, I highly recommend you go to the giraffe exhibit at feeding time. It was amazing.
We finished our trip with a visit to the elephants. By this point, the three adults were dragging. Sydney seemed a little tired, and we hoped she would take a nap in the car. She didn't. She played quietly with the new toys she bought at the gift shop, but she didn't sleep. That night, when she talked to her parents, they asked 'what did you do today?' and she told them 'nothing'. Then she did tell them she saw the baby giraffe and fed the daddy. She'll have a lot to tell her friends when she goes back to school. It was a great day at the zoo!
Our First Reds Game
Sunday, April 17 we went to a Reds Game. I bought the tickets for Dad's birthday and Father's Day combined. I got a great deal on the tickets. If you bought one at full price, you got the rest for half off. Our seats were just to the right of home plate, still kind of behind home plate. Sure, it was the last row in the section, but they were incredible seats. The full price ticket was only $45! We were amazed! When we got into the stadium, Dad stopped by a map and wanted to see where our seats were. When I pointed to the section we were in, he looked at me in wonder. He was really impressed.
It was overall, a pleasant experience. I've never been to a National League game. The Yankees are in the American League. The difference is that in the American League, the pitcher only pitches. He doesn't take a turn at the bat. In the National League, the pitcher also bats.
We left the house early, so that we would have plenty of time to find parking. We're used to going to baseball games in the Bronx, where if you don't get there early, you don't find decent parking. We arrived two hours early. We did get a little lost getting off the interstate, because the signs said ballpark exit 1F, Second Street. And when we got there, 1F was NOT the Second Street exit. But we were only a couple of blocks away, and easily found our way to the ball park. Downtown Cincinnati was absolutely dead. You would not think you were in the middle of a big city.
We parked in a garage a block from the stadium. We were the first car in the garage. It was a pleasant walk next to the river. It was a cool day, the high was only about 62, and it was windy. But the sunshine was gorgeous. We went to the main gate and had to wait about half an hour before the gates opened. People stood in line and chatted with strangers. Dad and I were at a baseball game, so naturally, we had on Yankees apparel. Dad had on his Yankees hat, shirt, sweatshirt, and coat. I wore a Yankees hat (because it's a baseball game, you have to wear a hat), shirt (which no one saw) and sweatshirt. Several people approached us asking 'are you from NY?' Dad happily told everyone he was a die hard Yankees fan, but I lived here so we came to see the Reds. People thought it was great that we were coming to the Reds game. Everyone was so friendly.
When the gates opened, I grabbed Syd's hand and held onto her. Mom and Dad kind of wrapped their arms around us, to make a protective barrier around us so we couldn't get separated. As I said, we're used to the Bronx. Where people push and shove to get into the gates. At Great American Ballpark, people stood in a line and entered the gate in an orderly fashion. No pushing. There was no fear of being separated. The people behind you knew they'd get in once you did. It was so pleasant.
Once inside the gate, we got our free baseball cards, which were handed out to all the fans as part of a promotion. In NY, promotional materials are handed out to the first few thousand. That's part of the jostling and pushing- everyone wants that free item. In Cincinnati, you just walked up and a ballpark employee handed one to you. It was easy to find our seats. Partly because Great American Ballpark is a small park, especially compared to Yankee Stadium. I really don't think there's a bad seat in the park.
Sydney wanted to eat as soon as we were there. She started with a hot dog. Then she ate french fries, and had an ice cream. Mom went to get an ice cream, and was back within five minutes. It wasn't this huge stadium to go through. Syd ate all of this before the first pitch was thrown. The prices were wonderful- a hot dog was only $4.00 (or maybe it was $4.50). Erich thought this was outrageous, but when Dad told him it's $8 in Yankee stadium, Erich realized why we thought it was such a cheap day. We were able to take a small cooler in, which saved us because we had Syd's drinks and waters in the cooler.
Sydney took her pink glove, and was certain we were going to catch a ball. We didn't. She bought one though, in the gift shop. There was not a lot of fan fare before the game. When they sang the Star Spangled Banner, I noticed not all the players for both teams were on the field. It was low key, but still a lot of fun. The fans still get into the game, just as they do in NY. It was easy to get into it, and you never felt like an outsider. Sydney loved the game, she kept watching. And eating. When the vendors came through the crowd, she got a cotton candy. A few minutes later, she got a snow cone. Mom had told her she could have anything she wanted. I kept hoping she wouldn't get sick. She didn't. In the 7th inning she had another hot dog. We hit the gift shop and she picked out a little glove and ball for her brother. She bought herself a Rosie doll (one of the mascots), and then picked a Mr. Red doll for her brother. In the gift shop, I was amazed at how civil everyone was. There was no pushing. No employees standing between you and the merchandise, trying to control the mob. You didn't feel like cattle being herded. You could take your time and find what you wanted. The cashier even asked each person if you needed tags cut off so you could wear the merchandise right away.
Each time the Reds score a home run, these smokestacks (that look like smokestacks from a paddle wheel boat) shoot fireworks. Sydney really enjoyed seeing that, although I had to explain to her why they didn't send off fireworks when the other team got a home run.
In the 9th inning we got up to hit the ladies' room one last time. As we went back to our seats, children were lining up in the concourse. It was 'run the bases' day, and kids can run the bases after the final out. I grabbed Dad, so we could get on the other side of the line to leave. We ended up leaving before the final out, but we had a great time. We walked to the car, had no problem getting out, and in 5 minutes we were back on the interstate headed for home. It was a good game, and a very nice stadium. The stadium sits on the river, so on a nice summer day it must be beautiful.
The stadium isn't hard to get to, and Dad and I both said we'd go again. I'll have to wait for my parents to come out, because Erich doesn't do baseball. Or any sports. Even though I'm not a Reds fan, it was a very pleasant experience. In fact, I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed Yankee Stadium. I have no desire to go back to Yankee Stadium, but I'll go back to Great American. It was what a baseball game should be: fun.
It was overall, a pleasant experience. I've never been to a National League game. The Yankees are in the American League. The difference is that in the American League, the pitcher only pitches. He doesn't take a turn at the bat. In the National League, the pitcher also bats.
We left the house early, so that we would have plenty of time to find parking. We're used to going to baseball games in the Bronx, where if you don't get there early, you don't find decent parking. We arrived two hours early. We did get a little lost getting off the interstate, because the signs said ballpark exit 1F, Second Street. And when we got there, 1F was NOT the Second Street exit. But we were only a couple of blocks away, and easily found our way to the ball park. Downtown Cincinnati was absolutely dead. You would not think you were in the middle of a big city.
We parked in a garage a block from the stadium. We were the first car in the garage. It was a pleasant walk next to the river. It was a cool day, the high was only about 62, and it was windy. But the sunshine was gorgeous. We went to the main gate and had to wait about half an hour before the gates opened. People stood in line and chatted with strangers. Dad and I were at a baseball game, so naturally, we had on Yankees apparel. Dad had on his Yankees hat, shirt, sweatshirt, and coat. I wore a Yankees hat (because it's a baseball game, you have to wear a hat), shirt (which no one saw) and sweatshirt. Several people approached us asking 'are you from NY?' Dad happily told everyone he was a die hard Yankees fan, but I lived here so we came to see the Reds. People thought it was great that we were coming to the Reds game. Everyone was so friendly.
When the gates opened, I grabbed Syd's hand and held onto her. Mom and Dad kind of wrapped their arms around us, to make a protective barrier around us so we couldn't get separated. As I said, we're used to the Bronx. Where people push and shove to get into the gates. At Great American Ballpark, people stood in a line and entered the gate in an orderly fashion. No pushing. There was no fear of being separated. The people behind you knew they'd get in once you did. It was so pleasant.
Once inside the gate, we got our free baseball cards, which were handed out to all the fans as part of a promotion. In NY, promotional materials are handed out to the first few thousand. That's part of the jostling and pushing- everyone wants that free item. In Cincinnati, you just walked up and a ballpark employee handed one to you. It was easy to find our seats. Partly because Great American Ballpark is a small park, especially compared to Yankee Stadium. I really don't think there's a bad seat in the park.
Sydney wanted to eat as soon as we were there. She started with a hot dog. Then she ate french fries, and had an ice cream. Mom went to get an ice cream, and was back within five minutes. It wasn't this huge stadium to go through. Syd ate all of this before the first pitch was thrown. The prices were wonderful- a hot dog was only $4.00 (or maybe it was $4.50). Erich thought this was outrageous, but when Dad told him it's $8 in Yankee stadium, Erich realized why we thought it was such a cheap day. We were able to take a small cooler in, which saved us because we had Syd's drinks and waters in the cooler.
Sydney took her pink glove, and was certain we were going to catch a ball. We didn't. She bought one though, in the gift shop. There was not a lot of fan fare before the game. When they sang the Star Spangled Banner, I noticed not all the players for both teams were on the field. It was low key, but still a lot of fun. The fans still get into the game, just as they do in NY. It was easy to get into it, and you never felt like an outsider. Sydney loved the game, she kept watching. And eating. When the vendors came through the crowd, she got a cotton candy. A few minutes later, she got a snow cone. Mom had told her she could have anything she wanted. I kept hoping she wouldn't get sick. She didn't. In the 7th inning she had another hot dog. We hit the gift shop and she picked out a little glove and ball for her brother. She bought herself a Rosie doll (one of the mascots), and then picked a Mr. Red doll for her brother. In the gift shop, I was amazed at how civil everyone was. There was no pushing. No employees standing between you and the merchandise, trying to control the mob. You didn't feel like cattle being herded. You could take your time and find what you wanted. The cashier even asked each person if you needed tags cut off so you could wear the merchandise right away.
Each time the Reds score a home run, these smokestacks (that look like smokestacks from a paddle wheel boat) shoot fireworks. Sydney really enjoyed seeing that, although I had to explain to her why they didn't send off fireworks when the other team got a home run.
In the 9th inning we got up to hit the ladies' room one last time. As we went back to our seats, children were lining up in the concourse. It was 'run the bases' day, and kids can run the bases after the final out. I grabbed Dad, so we could get on the other side of the line to leave. We ended up leaving before the final out, but we had a great time. We walked to the car, had no problem getting out, and in 5 minutes we were back on the interstate headed for home. It was a good game, and a very nice stadium. The stadium sits on the river, so on a nice summer day it must be beautiful.
The stadium isn't hard to get to, and Dad and I both said we'd go again. I'll have to wait for my parents to come out, because Erich doesn't do baseball. Or any sports. Even though I'm not a Reds fan, it was a very pleasant experience. In fact, I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed Yankee Stadium. I have no desire to go back to Yankee Stadium, but I'll go back to Great American. It was what a baseball game should be: fun.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Adventures at the Mall
Yesterday my parents and Sydney arrived for a six day visit. They left NY at 6:45 am, and arrived here around 7:15pm. Sydney was super excited when she got here. The 12 hour trip did not diminish her enthusiasm. She came inside while Dad and Erich unloaded the vehicle. She wanted to see her room right away, so I took her upstairs. She loved her room, and fell in love with the bears. She thought the room was very very pretty. She was thrilled to find that I had toys and books and crayons for her.
We ate dinner, then we went upstairs to cuddle until she was ready to go to bed. She kept saying she wasn't tired, but she went to sleep quickly.
Today began around 7:20 am. I did not sleep well last night, due to a variety of things: dogs snoring loudly, Erich snoring so loudly on the 2nd floor I could hear him through the floor, storms outside, a migraine, being too cold with not enough blankets, and the air mattress that will be my bed for the next few days. Erich was up, and starting breakfast (which he oddly only does when we have company). I was still on my air mattress, trying to grab a few more minutes of sleep, when my allergies kicked in and I gave up. Sydney came downstairs shortly afterwards. She is like her mother-she is a morning person. Aunt Amy has never been a morning person. Sydney is sweet and chipper and full of energy the moment her eyes open. Aunt Amy gets there after an hour or two (ok, I never really get to chipper.... and my energy tank is never full). She woke up and found the Max & Ruby coloring book I bought her. She brought it downstairs, so happy that I know what she likes. (I try!).
Sydney has taken to some of the bears. I suspect some of them are going home with her. I did tell her she could play with them, and this morning, she had two of them off the shelves and had them on the bed. I asked her what she was doing with those, and she said "I'm keeping them". Five years ago, I would have freaked out that she wanted to even touch my bears. Maybe even two years ago. Now, I'm ok with it. I told her the ones she couldn't play with, and she said 'they must be special bears'. Her favorite is the 'baby bear' I adopted at the Boyd's Bear Country Nursery 7 years ago. He has a couple of outfits so you can change him, plus a toy and a blanket. She has taken to carrying him all over. She changed him into his pjs last night, and then back into his outfit today. I think I have lost my baby bear. He will be going to NY. I'm ok with that too, she really likes him.
We had breakfast, and decided everyone would come with me to the salon. I had a hair appointment, and then we were headed to the mall, which is only about five minutes from my salon. Sydney once again glued herself to me, and is my girl. She wants me to sit with her in the car, she holds my hand when we get out of the car, and if someone asks her 'who do you want to do that?' she says "Aunt Amy!" .
Our first stop at the mall was to get her ears pierced. She paused briefly at the Easter Bunny area, and then it was off to Icing (a subsidiary of Claire's). We got to the mall shortly after it opened, so that was great. The store was not busy. The woman at Icing was incredible! She explained everything to Syd, and let Sydney hold the piercing thing. It is plastic now. I remember it being this big metal gun thing. She told Sydney there was nothing to be afraid of. Sydney was good, but as the woman got ready to do her ears, she started to panic. I think she was rethinking the whole thing, but those pink earrings she had picked out were irresistible! When it actually came time for the piercing, Mom held her, and Sydney did okay for the first ear. She did not want to let the woman pierce her other one though. All of a sudden, she wanted to go see the Easter Bunny. Mom and I tried everything: we can see the Easter Bunny after this, Mom promised to buy her something in the store, we told her she'd look funny with one pink earring. Finally she agreed to let the woman do the second ear, but her impulse was to hunch her shoulder when the woman came near her face. It seemed to take forever, and this woman was so incredibly patient. Customers were lining up in the store, and she was the only salesclerk. But she kept telling them "I'll be with you soon" and everyone seemed to be very understanding. When the second ear was done, I barely had time to take a picture and she was off to pick out something pretty. She chose this gaudy headband with hot pink feathers on it. She thought it was beautiful!
After Icing, we went to the Easter Bunny area. It was almost 11- the time the Easter Bunny was due to hop in, and there were about 10 families in line ahead of us. When it was our turn, she walked right up to him and climbed on his lap. They were able to take pictures, and then she gave him a hug! We waited in line to purchase copies of the pictures. The mall has a little train that goes around the upper level, and as we stood there she kept hearing the train whistle. She looked up at Mom & Dad and said 'can we ride the train?' . So, after purchasing our Easter Bunny pictures, we went to the upper level and found the train.
It was a four car train, plus the engine. Adults can ride in it, but if you're in one of the cars with a roof, it's not a comfortable ride. The ride is maybe only about 3-5 minutes. I went with her, because I didn't want her to ride alone. She chose the coal car, which did not have a roof. I was very grateful! The ride was very pleasant, you actually had a bit of a breeze as you rode along. On the train ride, we went past this place called Fun 4 Us. It was full of bouncy-bounces! She wanted to go there. We got off the train and she told Mom about it, so off we went. Fun 4 Us required children to wear socks. She did not have socks on, as she wanted to wear her 'high heeled sandals'. They aren't really high heels, but they have a little wedge to them. I had told her to bring sneakers and socks, because it was going to rain, and I didn't want her feet to get wet. So she had sneakers and socks in the car. She asked my dad to go get them. We went to get lunch while Dad ran to the car. We ate lunch, not fast enough in her opinion, and then it was off to Fun 4 Us. She skipped as she held my hand.
Fun 4 Us was really great. It was $5 per child, and they can play as long as they want. She went in, hopped on the first bouncy-bounce, and immediately started having fun. There were three bouncy-bounces plus some other ride on toys. The first bouncy-bounce was her favorite. She'd go on it several times, then run to the others and do each of them a couple of times. She was this bundle of energy. I have no idea where all that energy came from, but I was so grateful she had an outlet for it. She played for 45 minutes straight. Most of that time, she was the only child there, so she had a blast. One of the bouncy-bounces had inflatable palm trees on it, and when she'd get onto that bouncy-bounce, she started boxing with the trees. There was a ride-on horse there, and she rode that thing like they were out to save the world. She played hard. The whole time she was laughing this bubbly giddy giggle.
Once she had worn herself out, and taken time to cool down and drink some milk, we went to JC Penney. I wanted to get her some nice earrings. She picked out sets that had four pair in each, so she really got quite a few earrings! As we drove home, her eyes were getting heavy, and we thought she'd go to sleep. She didn't. We stopped at the store, and she kept asking 'when are we going to go home? I want to play with Onyx.'
Onyx and Sydney have become good friends. Onyx thinks Sydney is her toy, and loves that Sydney is her size. Onyx licks Syd, which makes Syd laugh. Onyx reacts to the laughter and licks her more. I found them this morning, rolling around on the floor- a licking and laughing jumble. I end up separating them, because I don't want Onyx to think she can rule Sydney. Sydney is helping feed the dogs, and she likes to pet them. She thinks they are pretty funny.
This afternoon, everyone else was able to get a nap. Aunt Amy and Sydney played. We played with play dough, we worked in her Max & Ruby activity book. We went upstairs and played with dolls and had a tea party with a few bears. We watched half of Tangled, and cuddled on the couch. Then we made homemade pizza for dinner. She helped work the dough out, and then she put all the toppings on the pizza. She would put one pepperoni on the pizza, and pop one in her mouth. She had to sample the sausage too. We had Erich's parents over for dinner, and she really wasn't that shy with them. She talked to them, and took them up to show them 'her room'. I did ask her what we will do when her brother is able to come visit. Could he share the room with her? She said NO! That's her room.
After dinner she performed her dance routine for us, then it was upstairs for a bath. Then she wanted the spa treatment, so Aunt Amy had to paint her toenails and fingernails. There's a reason my nails are never painted- I don't paint nails well. But I tried my best. She called her parents to say goodnight, and I tucked her into her bed.
I came downstairs, exhausted. Erich said 'you look beat'. Yes, I am! But I am having a wonderful time and I adore holding her hand and showing her things. As she sat in the tub tonight, she said "I'm so glad I'm here at your house". I told her "I am too, honey!"
We ate dinner, then we went upstairs to cuddle until she was ready to go to bed. She kept saying she wasn't tired, but she went to sleep quickly.
Today began around 7:20 am. I did not sleep well last night, due to a variety of things: dogs snoring loudly, Erich snoring so loudly on the 2nd floor I could hear him through the floor, storms outside, a migraine, being too cold with not enough blankets, and the air mattress that will be my bed for the next few days. Erich was up, and starting breakfast (which he oddly only does when we have company). I was still on my air mattress, trying to grab a few more minutes of sleep, when my allergies kicked in and I gave up. Sydney came downstairs shortly afterwards. She is like her mother-she is a morning person. Aunt Amy has never been a morning person. Sydney is sweet and chipper and full of energy the moment her eyes open. Aunt Amy gets there after an hour or two (ok, I never really get to chipper.... and my energy tank is never full). She woke up and found the Max & Ruby coloring book I bought her. She brought it downstairs, so happy that I know what she likes. (I try!).
Sydney has taken to some of the bears. I suspect some of them are going home with her. I did tell her she could play with them, and this morning, she had two of them off the shelves and had them on the bed. I asked her what she was doing with those, and she said "I'm keeping them". Five years ago, I would have freaked out that she wanted to even touch my bears. Maybe even two years ago. Now, I'm ok with it. I told her the ones she couldn't play with, and she said 'they must be special bears'. Her favorite is the 'baby bear' I adopted at the Boyd's Bear Country Nursery 7 years ago. He has a couple of outfits so you can change him, plus a toy and a blanket. She has taken to carrying him all over. She changed him into his pjs last night, and then back into his outfit today. I think I have lost my baby bear. He will be going to NY. I'm ok with that too, she really likes him.
We had breakfast, and decided everyone would come with me to the salon. I had a hair appointment, and then we were headed to the mall, which is only about five minutes from my salon. Sydney once again glued herself to me, and is my girl. She wants me to sit with her in the car, she holds my hand when we get out of the car, and if someone asks her 'who do you want to do that?' she says "Aunt Amy!" .
Our first stop at the mall was to get her ears pierced. She paused briefly at the Easter Bunny area, and then it was off to Icing (a subsidiary of Claire's). We got to the mall shortly after it opened, so that was great. The store was not busy. The woman at Icing was incredible! She explained everything to Syd, and let Sydney hold the piercing thing. It is plastic now. I remember it being this big metal gun thing. She told Sydney there was nothing to be afraid of. Sydney was good, but as the woman got ready to do her ears, she started to panic. I think she was rethinking the whole thing, but those pink earrings she had picked out were irresistible! When it actually came time for the piercing, Mom held her, and Sydney did okay for the first ear. She did not want to let the woman pierce her other one though. All of a sudden, she wanted to go see the Easter Bunny. Mom and I tried everything: we can see the Easter Bunny after this, Mom promised to buy her something in the store, we told her she'd look funny with one pink earring. Finally she agreed to let the woman do the second ear, but her impulse was to hunch her shoulder when the woman came near her face. It seemed to take forever, and this woman was so incredibly patient. Customers were lining up in the store, and she was the only salesclerk. But she kept telling them "I'll be with you soon" and everyone seemed to be very understanding. When the second ear was done, I barely had time to take a picture and she was off to pick out something pretty. She chose this gaudy headband with hot pink feathers on it. She thought it was beautiful!
After Icing, we went to the Easter Bunny area. It was almost 11- the time the Easter Bunny was due to hop in, and there were about 10 families in line ahead of us. When it was our turn, she walked right up to him and climbed on his lap. They were able to take pictures, and then she gave him a hug! We waited in line to purchase copies of the pictures. The mall has a little train that goes around the upper level, and as we stood there she kept hearing the train whistle. She looked up at Mom & Dad and said 'can we ride the train?' . So, after purchasing our Easter Bunny pictures, we went to the upper level and found the train.
It was a four car train, plus the engine. Adults can ride in it, but if you're in one of the cars with a roof, it's not a comfortable ride. The ride is maybe only about 3-5 minutes. I went with her, because I didn't want her to ride alone. She chose the coal car, which did not have a roof. I was very grateful! The ride was very pleasant, you actually had a bit of a breeze as you rode along. On the train ride, we went past this place called Fun 4 Us. It was full of bouncy-bounces! She wanted to go there. We got off the train and she told Mom about it, so off we went. Fun 4 Us required children to wear socks. She did not have socks on, as she wanted to wear her 'high heeled sandals'. They aren't really high heels, but they have a little wedge to them. I had told her to bring sneakers and socks, because it was going to rain, and I didn't want her feet to get wet. So she had sneakers and socks in the car. She asked my dad to go get them. We went to get lunch while Dad ran to the car. We ate lunch, not fast enough in her opinion, and then it was off to Fun 4 Us. She skipped as she held my hand.
Fun 4 Us was really great. It was $5 per child, and they can play as long as they want. She went in, hopped on the first bouncy-bounce, and immediately started having fun. There were three bouncy-bounces plus some other ride on toys. The first bouncy-bounce was her favorite. She'd go on it several times, then run to the others and do each of them a couple of times. She was this bundle of energy. I have no idea where all that energy came from, but I was so grateful she had an outlet for it. She played for 45 minutes straight. Most of that time, she was the only child there, so she had a blast. One of the bouncy-bounces had inflatable palm trees on it, and when she'd get onto that bouncy-bounce, she started boxing with the trees. There was a ride-on horse there, and she rode that thing like they were out to save the world. She played hard. The whole time she was laughing this bubbly giddy giggle.
Once she had worn herself out, and taken time to cool down and drink some milk, we went to JC Penney. I wanted to get her some nice earrings. She picked out sets that had four pair in each, so she really got quite a few earrings! As we drove home, her eyes were getting heavy, and we thought she'd go to sleep. She didn't. We stopped at the store, and she kept asking 'when are we going to go home? I want to play with Onyx.'
Onyx and Sydney have become good friends. Onyx thinks Sydney is her toy, and loves that Sydney is her size. Onyx licks Syd, which makes Syd laugh. Onyx reacts to the laughter and licks her more. I found them this morning, rolling around on the floor- a licking and laughing jumble. I end up separating them, because I don't want Onyx to think she can rule Sydney. Sydney is helping feed the dogs, and she likes to pet them. She thinks they are pretty funny.
This afternoon, everyone else was able to get a nap. Aunt Amy and Sydney played. We played with play dough, we worked in her Max & Ruby activity book. We went upstairs and played with dolls and had a tea party with a few bears. We watched half of Tangled, and cuddled on the couch. Then we made homemade pizza for dinner. She helped work the dough out, and then she put all the toppings on the pizza. She would put one pepperoni on the pizza, and pop one in her mouth. She had to sample the sausage too. We had Erich's parents over for dinner, and she really wasn't that shy with them. She talked to them, and took them up to show them 'her room'. I did ask her what we will do when her brother is able to come visit. Could he share the room with her? She said NO! That's her room.
After dinner she performed her dance routine for us, then it was upstairs for a bath. Then she wanted the spa treatment, so Aunt Amy had to paint her toenails and fingernails. There's a reason my nails are never painted- I don't paint nails well. But I tried my best. She called her parents to say goodnight, and I tucked her into her bed.
I came downstairs, exhausted. Erich said 'you look beat'. Yes, I am! But I am having a wonderful time and I adore holding her hand and showing her things. As she sat in the tub tonight, she said "I'm so glad I'm here at your house". I told her "I am too, honey!"
Monday, April 11, 2011
Guilt and Thankfulness
This past week I have been thinking of my Mom. A lot. I blame this on Facebook. Before I reconnected with people on Facebook, I didn't know everything that was going on in my friends' lives. I had lost touch with all of the people from high school, and pretty much all the people from college that I was friends with. Now that I've reconnected with all these people from various parts of my life, I know what is going on in their lives. At least as much as they put on Facebook. I know when they have a good day, when they are upset, and when life just flat out sucks.
Last week, two of my Facebook friends lost their Moms. One had been suffering, and was under the care of Hospice. My 'friend' had been praying for peace for her mom. The other friend's mom passed suddenly. While the circumstances surrounding the losses were different, and my friends are 20 years apart in age; their loss is still tremendous. My heart broke for both women. For the high school acquaintance, my heart broke because I couldn't imagine being so young and having your mother gone. For my friend who is the only child and lived close to her elderly mother, my heart breaks that such a huge part of her daily life is gone. Both women seem lost, like they have lost their soul.
Tonight a college friend said her mom had received a terminal diagnosis. Once again I feel my heart breaking for her. I don't know what to say. I don't know what she is going through. I know how devastating it would be for me. I feel so hopeless. All I can do is offer to be there for her. And pray that maybe there's a miracle in her future.
I can't even begin to understand what these women are feeling. I know, someday, I will have to face this. My hope is that my mother will live to a ripe old age of 90+. I hope this because I want to have her in my life as long as possible. Plus, this would give me at least more than another 30 years with her. I know it isn't up to me. I feel so guilty, looking forward to spending a week with my mom, while friends are dealing with such a loss. I guess that's the Catholic. We feel guilty, even about things we can't control!
I also feel very very blessed. I know when I see my Mom, I will give her a big hug. I will cherish each minute we have together in the coming week, and every time we are together. Our family has gotten very good over the years about making the most of the time we have together. We also have a rule in our family- you don't say goodbye without saying 'I love you'. Even if it was just a two minute phone call. You say 'I love you' when you hang up. Because you never know when your last conversation is going to occur. We don't want to leave anything unsaid. My dad once had to take another call while I was on the phone, and he called back after he finished the call. He hadn't told me he loved me when he disconnected our call to take the other one. Even Sydney does this. When she is done talking she says 'Bye, I love you'. Although it's all in one breath so it's more like 'byeiloveyou'.
I know this won't keep my parents from dying. It won't trivialize the loss when it happens. But I know as we grieve, we will be comforted by all the memories. We will be comforted by the 'I Love You's'. For now, I will continue to thank God for each day I have them, and enjoy all of our time together.
Last week, two of my Facebook friends lost their Moms. One had been suffering, and was under the care of Hospice. My 'friend' had been praying for peace for her mom. The other friend's mom passed suddenly. While the circumstances surrounding the losses were different, and my friends are 20 years apart in age; their loss is still tremendous. My heart broke for both women. For the high school acquaintance, my heart broke because I couldn't imagine being so young and having your mother gone. For my friend who is the only child and lived close to her elderly mother, my heart breaks that such a huge part of her daily life is gone. Both women seem lost, like they have lost their soul.
Tonight a college friend said her mom had received a terminal diagnosis. Once again I feel my heart breaking for her. I don't know what to say. I don't know what she is going through. I know how devastating it would be for me. I feel so hopeless. All I can do is offer to be there for her. And pray that maybe there's a miracle in her future.
I can't even begin to understand what these women are feeling. I know, someday, I will have to face this. My hope is that my mother will live to a ripe old age of 90+. I hope this because I want to have her in my life as long as possible. Plus, this would give me at least more than another 30 years with her. I know it isn't up to me. I feel so guilty, looking forward to spending a week with my mom, while friends are dealing with such a loss. I guess that's the Catholic. We feel guilty, even about things we can't control!
I also feel very very blessed. I know when I see my Mom, I will give her a big hug. I will cherish each minute we have together in the coming week, and every time we are together. Our family has gotten very good over the years about making the most of the time we have together. We also have a rule in our family- you don't say goodbye without saying 'I love you'. Even if it was just a two minute phone call. You say 'I love you' when you hang up. Because you never know when your last conversation is going to occur. We don't want to leave anything unsaid. My dad once had to take another call while I was on the phone, and he called back after he finished the call. He hadn't told me he loved me when he disconnected our call to take the other one. Even Sydney does this. When she is done talking she says 'Bye, I love you'. Although it's all in one breath so it's more like 'byeiloveyou'.
I know this won't keep my parents from dying. It won't trivialize the loss when it happens. But I know as we grieve, we will be comforted by all the memories. We will be comforted by the 'I Love You's'. For now, I will continue to thank God for each day I have them, and enjoy all of our time together.
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