California Dreamin'

We made the decision to go to California on vacation. No surprise, right? My sister encouraged us to branch out on our choice of destination. Mexico or the Dominican Republic would be an adventure. She was right about that, but when we looked at our goals for the trip, a passport-worthy location didn't fit.We are looking for a low-key trip to recharge our batteries. One goal was to stay in a hotel that provided proximity to restaurants, entertainment, and possibly a little coffee shop for some morning energy. From what I have been told once you get to your resort in Mexico you don't leave your resort. There is something to be said about staff to bring you what want when you want it, but we are cool with doing for ourselves. Another reason we chose Cali is that we love Cali. You can't beat the sunshine and low humidity. Cali is beautiful. Driving down the PCH has to be one of the most beautiful sights. So for the next few days we'll get some R&R in our favorite state. Stay tuned for the relaxing details.

Doppelganger

Did you know you have a twin?  You may have never seen them, but you have one. 

After I buckled G into his carseat at the grocery store, he saw one.

"Bye, Papa," G says from the backseat.
"Papa?  He's not here," I laugh.
 G retorts with, "Yes he is.  He's right there."

I looked out the window and had to do a double take.  The man getting into the car next to us was most definitely my dad's doppelganger  The glasses perched on his nose, the t-shirt, the denim shorts - it was my dad!  In order to get proof, it was needed to play it smooth.

I dusted off my acting skills and launched the camera on my phone.  As Papa Twin returned his cart and walked to his car, I pretended to attend to G in the back seat.  Then my hand started snapping photos with my phone.
 

This is the best photo I could get, but it's great proof of Papa's twin.  You never know when you will run into your doppelganger. 

I Was Right

Remember last night's meltdown about the airport? G came into our room this morning and asked me to change his diaper.

"I need a new diaper so we can go to the airport."

One track mind.

This Weekend

Finish the second book of the summer

Plan activities for vacation - you will find out the location soon!

Find a fun family activity out of the heat

Take the kids to Nana & Papa so we can....

Attend the wedding of a work colleague

Fold laundry - probably not

So sweet

In case you didn't know, it's really stinkin' hot outside.

It was even too hot to go to the pool today.

After dinner we had to go for a drive before the kids hurt each other (more than they had already).

Once we devoured some Italian Ice we continued our drive.  Once we started our way home, Matt did a loop around the airport.  G saw the airplanes and was super excited to see them.  He saw them landing and idling at the gate.  Once we turned toward the exit ramp, G's tears started to pour.

He wanted to get on one of those airplanes.  We tried to explain that we were not going anywhere tonight.  That was not the answer he wanted.

"I get on the airplane now, Mom."

"Sorry Big Guy, we aren't getting on a plane tonight."

"Yes we are!!!!"

A similar conversation continued all the way home.  I tried to rationalize with the tyke that we did not have a ticket or our suitcases.

"Yes we do!!!  The suitcase is in the trunk."

"Really?  Mom & Dad did not pack our suitcases."

A few minutes later he whispered, "When we get home we get a suitcase and our ticket, OK Mom?"

My heart broke hearing him say this.  

It broke even more when we got home.

G went into his room, changed his clothes, and grabbed his Lightning McQueen suitcase.  Oh my goodness, he looked so hopeful about going on a trip.

Thankfully we were able to diffuse the situation and get him into pajamas and to bed.  I have a feeling this discussion is not over.  I've got money he packs his bag in the morning........

Go with the flow

One could say that our family is low maintenance.  We have minimal needs in life and don't get caught up in much drama.  G brings his own drama, but what do you expect from a 3 year old?

Our kids are not over scheduled for activities.  Both kids take a Spanish class once a week and M played softball this summer.  That's it.  The lack of activities allows us freedom to do what we want each day.  Beach?  Sure.  Ride bikes to the park?  If it's not too hot.  Pool?  Absolutely.

While we are relatively drama free; there are some things that frustrate me beyond belief.  One thing I will focus on today is kids' sports.  M wanted to play softball with her friends this summer.  We did not object to a season that went from the end of May to the end of June.  We liked the social opportunity, for M and for us.  Working full time limits the social interactions I have with other parents.  I am not at daily pick-up and drop-off to mingle among the moms.  This was a good chance to meet new people.  Let me just say making friends with adults is very hard.  I will leave it at that. 

I have to say M is a great ball player.  She has an accurate throw and a decent swing.




When softball started in May the coaches had some items for which they needed parent support - striping the field, uniform pick up, etc.  One item on the list made me bristle - Snack and End of the Season Party.

When the coach asked if one parent would like to create a snack schedule, I had to speak up.  The games were scheduled for 90 minutes.  Did we really need a snack?  Is there a designated snack time during the game?  Did we really need a snack?  We've all been parents for 8+ years and can be responsible for a snack for our own kid. 

The coach didn't know how to answer my questions.  He fumbled an answer out to say that they've had snack in the past and should continue it this year.  So one family created a snack schedule for us.  I graciously participated because I was not going to disappoint a group of 7-8 year olds who have come to expect snack at every event. 

In addition to snack, there has to be a party at the end of the season, right?

My ulcer gives kudos to the mom that planned it.  She decided to have a brief picnic at the ball field after the last game.  Each parent contributed a small snack for the girls.  I signed up for baby wipes since I already had them in my purse - no shopping necessary.  It was a lovely 25-minute fiesta.

During their snack I noticed that M was having trouble opening her bottle of water.  I walked over to help.  As I bent over, I felt a rush of freezing cold down the back of my shirt.

Time stood still for a few seconds.....

One of the assistant coaches decided to douse the coach with the cooler of water.  Apparently his aim was a little off and I was an unintended victim.  Once the Earth started rotating again, I stood up and instinctively took my own bottle of water and dumped it down the back of his shirt.  The look on the assistant coach's face was all the apology I needed.

I did snag a beer from his cooler.  How's that for going with the flow?



*On a side note - we did not give out goody bags at M's birthday party this year.  I heard at least three of the kids express disappointment to their parent as they walked out the door.  I'm taking a stand, will you join me in not giving these bags of crap out at parties?*

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President,
I took my son to the doctor for his annual health check up.  The doctor was very pleased to hear that he eats a healthy diet and gets a lot of physical activity in his day.  All of his immunizations are up to date and his vocabulary is expanding as it should. 

My son will attend preschool in the fall, and we are very excited for him to partake in this experience.  I needed a health physical form filled out by my pediatrician to satisfy the preschool's enrollment requirements.  I hope you can imagine my surprise when my pediatrician informed me that my son was obese.  My doctor stated that government regulations stated a BMI had to be calculated for all children.  I have an idea of what an obese child might look like, and my son is nowhere near that image.  If my son is obese then there is something seriously flawed with the BMI formula.  

Sincerely,
Holly

Not a Bad Problem to Have

The kids are going to spend some time with their grandparents, so Matt and I are thinking of taking a vacation.  The problem we are having is where to go.  Airfare is quite a bit higher this year than last.  Two of us can go to California this year for the same price as all four of us last year.   

We decided a good way to make our decision easier is to look at the bottom line - airfare + hotel + car + food = the bottom line.  We have a bottom line number in mind, that's where our problem starts. 

We can go many places for that bottom line.  Since it will be two passport-toting adults on this trip, we can go anywhere, except super busy London  :(

Airfare to one location might be high, but the hotel is cheaper so the bottom line stays the same for the first three options.

Los Angeles - stay at a hotel near the beach and walking distance to coffee shops and restaurants. 

Mexico - all inclusive hotel/airfare package

Florida - stay at a hotel near the beach and walking distance to coffee shops and restaurants

Staycation - head to the city once or twice, fold the heap of laundry, and clean out the storage room.

Somewhere not listed that is amazing -  please leave a comment to this blog post!

Vote in the poll on the right side.  If you have any other spectacular destinations or activities to do in the suggested locations, leave a comment!

First Book of the Summer

Summer vacation brings on many things, one is the time to read for pleasure.  I do read during the school year, but my eyes typically make it only a few pages until I pass out.  The extra sleep of summer makes me more alert for books!

My first summer read was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  She also wrote Seabiscut, which I have not read.  This story is about an Olympic runner that joins the military and serves during WWII.  He flies planes and eventually crashes (I'm not spoiling anything for you).  What happens after that is horrific and inspiring. 

I actually started this book back in November during our weekend in LA.  It was an interesting coincidence that I read this book during our trip.  The main character, Louis Zamperini, grew up in Torrance, California, which was not far from where we were.  On Sunday morning of that weekend we drove down toward Long Beach, and I was shocked to see an airport named Zamperini Field.  The city of Torrance renamed their airport in honor of their famous son. 

After our trip I put the book down and had hopes of returning to it during the holidays.  I bought the book for my dad and thought we could have a discussion about it.  Needless to say he finished it by Valentine's Day.

So, I didn't read the whole book during the summer since I picked up on page 150, but I'm not going to be picky.  Once I resumed reading, I could not stop.  I found myself thinking about the characters and what they experienced when I wasn't reading.

LHR-->EWR-->ORD

I came to London alone, and I leave London alone.

Matt and I parted ways at Holborn and I made my way to Heathrow (LHR) for a 12:00 flight.  His flight was 4:00, so he was going to squeeze in a few more hours of work.

Matt used his fancy schmancy miles for my ticket, and I had access to the club before my flight.  I had a great breakfast and some comfy chairs to relax in before take off. 

It was an uneventful flight back to the US.  My seat on the plane was not as comfortable as my flight over on British Airways, but I will certainly not complain.  I made small talk with the man next to me once I saw him reading The Hunger Games :)

A nice selection of charging options

The strip steak was delicious

He knew that I had never been to New York so when we landed at Newark he was sure to point out the major Manhattan landmarks.  He works in Manhattan and we had a sobering talk about his day on September 11.  His office is not far from Ground Zero, and his recollection of that day brought tears to my eyes.

I had a two-hour layover in Newark that I did not want to wait out.  Matt booked a long layover not knowing how long clearing customs would take.  I happened to exit customs with the flight attendant from my flight.  We chatted on our walk through the terminal.  I told him I wanted to see about getting on an earlier flight home.  He walked me to the right terminal and line for changing my ticket.  If you are ever on the LHR/EWR flight look for Salvatore, he's great!  The agent at the counter said no other flights were available so I resigned myself to some down time and checked out the United Club - you know so I can tell Matt all about it.  I thought I would give an earlier flight one more try, and asked the agent at the desk to help me out.  She tapped a few keys and voila!  I was on my way in 45 minutes.
 
This United Club was definitely much busier than the other two clubs I visited on this trip.  This club even had shower rooms, slightly weird.  They looked quite clean and the employees were cleaning them after each patron finished.

My flight from Newark to Chicago (ORD) was even less luxurious.  First class on this plane only meant leather seats.

I know, boo hoo.  It did have DirectTV so that was a bonus.  After that the rest of the day was a blur.  I'm pretty sure I drove home and went to bed because it was approximately midnight, London time. 

Can't wait to go back!

I Walked How Far?

***Ooops!  I thought I published this post long ago.  Apparently I never clicked that button!  Enjoy***


6 miles.


I walked approximately 6 miles yesterday.  That is if my unscientific scrap of paper cut to map scale measurement tool is accurate.

Let me tell you my calves, toes, arches, knees, and maybe even toe nails felt every mile this morning.  My first steps out of bed were excruciating.  I knew I needed to push through the pain for one more day in London. 

Matt was going to meet his colleague for coffee.  I needed something more substantial to recharge my batteries from yesterday.  The great thing about one of our favorite restaurants in the UK, Pret A Manger, is that they are never far away.  I walked down by the Holborn station and cozied up to the window for some porridge (Proper Porridge that is) and a latte.

Numero uno on today's list was Kensington Palace.  Why, you ask?  Well it's the soon to be permanent residence of William and Kate.  I had to make sure it was going to be an acceptable location for them :)  Aside from them Princess Diana and Queen Victoria formerly lived here as well. 

Matt and I visited Kensington Palace on our first trip to London back in 2005.  It has been closed for a bit for renovations in part due to the Queen's Jubilee in June.  Yesterday was the palace's grand re-opening, so I was happy that we were in town for it.  I took the tube out to Kensington and walked my way to the palace.  I was quite giddy waiting for the palace to open.  I have such fond memories of the rooms and the history in each one.  

This is the gate that was flooded with flowers after Diana's death

The side entrance - Which window is Will & Kate's?

London was experiencing a stretch of amazing weather.  As you can see in the photo above, the clouds were on a holiday, too.  

According to the lady at the front door, the renovation brought on changes to the way one tours the palace.  Instead of reading information from posters, each room is hosted by an expert staff member that will tell you about the room and answer any questions.  Sounds good to me since I was dying to talk to someone after touring most of yesterday by myself.  My giddiness soon turned to disappointment.  The tour of the palace was terrible.  A twelve million pound price tag for renovations was not worth it.  They tried to make the palace into a fairy tale theme, the old castle was just lovely the way it was.  The rooms were not staged as the past; the renovation made them into quite creepy scenes.  One of the rooms had all these little chairs and you had to sit in the window seat to hear "whispers" from the speakers.  I could not even tell the purpose of the room.  I kept looking for the expert staff members, but many of the rooms were empty.

These cutout figures lined the stairwell.  They did not add anything to the palace.

The section of the palace devoted to Queen Victoria's artifacts was tastefully done.  However, her bedroom was disappointing.  For preservation purposes the lighting is extremely dim.  The renovation brought in some back-lit shadow boxes that made it difficult to see anything. 

London has had one other Diamond Jubilee in their history .  This is a replica of the statue that overlooks the lake in Kensington Garden.
  

 I will say that the views outside of the palace windows are great.  

Kensington Garden and Queen Victoria statue

I made my way to the gift shop to buy my commemorative Diamond Jubilee pill box to go along with my collection from Charles & Camilla's wedding and Will & Kate's nuptials.  *Since coming home I've checked the reviews on Trip Advisor and I am not the only one disappointed in the renovation.  It has over 100 terrible reviews - one of them is mine. 

I could not waste the gorgeous day riding the tube.  I walked through Kensington Garden toward the Knightsbridge neighborhood.

  

The Albert Memorial commissioned by Queen Victoria after his death

Across the street from the Albert Memorial is the Royal Albert Hall, another Queen Victoria creation.  

Had I walked around front of this building, I might have seen some movie stars.  I found out later that tonight was the London premiere for the re-release of Titanic.  I guarantee I would have at least seen some red carpet, if not Kate Winslet. 

A few more blocks down the road is Harrods.  I spent a few hours meandering the departments and food halls.  

I will admit, I thought I could cut through a neighborhood and get to Harrods.  I quickly found that I was wrong.  I forgot that London neighborhoods are usually comprised of little enclaves with private parks and lots of gates.  The streets were deserted, but I was not scared for my safety as this was a pretty swanky neighborhood.  I was starting to panic that I might never find the way out, but I spotted a man in business attire that looked like he was on his way somewhere important; I hoped he wasn't on his way to his house.  Thankfully he zipped through a secret archway, and we were back to retail civilization.  

My feet were done.  They did not want to walk any further.  Thankfully there is a tube stop right outside of Harrods.  I hobbled back to our hotel and ate a sandwich I grabbed along the way.  After a short rest I decided to go back to The British Museum.  Matt's delirious state a few days ago cut our first visit short.  I am so glad I went back; we missed a lot, and I got to explore an exhibit that awed me then.

I made my way back to the Rosetta Stone for a photo. The Enlightenment Gallery shows the progression of the museum's collection, starting from 1680.  The artifacts are displayed from floor to ceiling and the number of books is more than anyone could read in a lifetime.

Matt finished with work for the day just as I finished at the museum.  We rested for a few minutes and stepped out for dinner.  We wanted to go back to the Italian restaurant we ate at a few days ago, but the line was out to the sidewalk.  So, we settled on a small neighborhood spot that was just enough for our weary bones.  

Tomorrow is a travel day.  Back to real life. 

Dinner with a Canadian in the UK

Matt’s Canadian colleague joined us in London.  He had a much shorter ride to London because he finished his vacation in Paris the day before - a quick ride across the The English Channel was all it took.  

The three of us went out to dinner on Monday night.  The Canadian is a certified sommelier and enjoys his liquor.  If you know me well then you know I don’t typically drink alcohol.  In my opinion it’s pretty nasty stuff.  Don’t get me wrong I occasionally enjoy a bit of Guinness, Blue Moon, or delicious Summer Ale. 

Anyway, we rode a black London cab to a tapas place in the Theatre District.  We sat at the bar and had a fantastic meal & great conversation with the bartender.  As the night progressed we consumed plates of soft-shell crab, empanadas, skirt steak, pork belly (I graciously passed), and alcohol.  The bartender and the Canadian had lively conversation about wine and spirit pairings for different dishes and ogled at different rarely seen bottles.  The bartender was quite generous with samples (for the men, thank you very much) of different wines and spirits.  He even made me an Earl Grey Iced Tea, which was spectacular.  I will have to try my own very soon.  It was certainly nice to eat in a restaurant without a kids’ menu.