Trains for Dinner

"Mommy, I would really appreciate it if you and Daddy took my brothers and me to that train station pizza store again today"

That was three days ago. I have dangled that carrot for days and last night we went to Pizza Works where they have model trains driving around the entire place AND it is literally 30 feet away from the tracks on which run the Accela.

Needless to say the same boys, who inhaled a large pizza two weeks ago, hardly choked down a piece each.

And while we have missed some serious photo ops, we do have something to show for this event grace a Scott's fancy new Blackberry which out of deference to my husband's love of technology, I must say took and emailed this pic!

Thank You Very Much

We went to a small local beach today. There were no more than 20 people on this beach at any time. There was no surf which thrilled Aidan & Sam and oddly turned off Noah from the beach. He got past it and we frolicked in the water for a good long time. When we finally settled back on the blanket, I took in our surroundings in greater detail.

There was a mom with her three kids and a friend of the daughter. The two girls tried to swim out to the dock and it became too much for the daughter who clung to her friend resulting in a rarely-warranted preteen girl scream. The mom and lifeguard couldn’t have been faster. They were in and had pulled the girls back in within minutes. Mental note: take that “Stroke Improvement” class at the Y. Later the friend went out to the dock followed by the brother….oh brother! They sunned on the dock, chatted together after having enjoyed a swim together all while the sister sat with the mom. They were engaged in painful teenage chatter including, “where do you go to school?” “do you switch classes?” “when’s your birthday?” Oh how I wouldn’t go back to those days for *anything*!

Quickly the beach seemed very crowded. Glancing around, it was apparent that it was because of the arrival of the family of 5 parading down the beach. Trying not to be rude and stare, I had to wait until they all went into the water to get a good look at them all. My best estimation was that the girls were 7 and 5 and the boys were 3, 2 and 1. I’d allow for the two younger ones to be twins. I heard the very serene, soft spoken dad of these freakishly well-behaved children say that mom was a work. I think she’s paying him back for not keeping his hands to himself.

Though the woman next to me and I enjoyed a chuckle about how long ago the days seemed when we pranced onto the beach with nothing but a book and a chair, I will very happily take my days just as they are. Thank you very much.

We went to pick raspberries this morning. We were a little late in the season, but my kids pick berries with the gusto of the Cider House Rules crew so I figured they'd make the best of what was left. Driving along, brainlessly listening to Kidstuff, Channel 116 on Sirius as Sammy frequently requests, it occurs to me that I do spend quite a bit of mindless time. I'm not any longer actively involved in academics or regular profession, my reading is usually by osmosis b/c the book (even the most captivating historical fiction) is usually on my sleeping face, my news intake is summed up on the home page of MSN, and my capacity for response to the Harry Potter finale was "I liked it", unlike the intellectual responses of our friends . I don't think I've gone dumb, just dull.

From this realization, I affirmed that I am juggling rather a lot, regularly going to the gym, working on starting another business, and oh yea, raising children. Sammy interrupted this patting of my ego by reading street signs and telling me which was I would go if I wanted to go to New Haven. Well, if my brain is on hiatus, at least theirs are headed in the right direction. I flipped the mirror down to see Noah & Aidan. Aidan was reading a book. He's so smart. Noah was sticking his fingers in his ears and taking them out and putting them in and taking them out. Two out of three isn't bad.