I couldn't think of a name for this post. Just couldn't.

I wanted to vent a bit here, but if I started, there would be no end to it and I don't want to loose two people who visit my blog.

Instead, I'll show you some pictures of my finished knitted work. Seth's co-worker is pregnant, so before we left to New England, I knitted a blanket, a bib and a vest for her baby.

I've been also a bit obsessed with knitting the bibs from this site. They are very cute, a very quick knit which led me to make at least 10 of them.

What gets me through lately? Reminding myself of cute, clever, not so typical (for their age) things my kids do. This picture makes me smile. It's David packing for our vacation. I wrote him a list of things he needed to place in a bag and he picked it all on his own and would check off each item as he'd place them in a bag. I had promised myself I would trust him and not check on him. Once we got to Maine, we realized that the only thing he forgot to pack was his pajama top. Why is he so mature in some ways and extremely immature in others?

The First Day of School.

Both kids on their first day of school. David entered the kindergarten and Julia started the pre-k. I need to remember to take a picture of them on the same spot on their last day of school, so I could compare how much they've grown and changed.

David loved his first day. He's pretty excited that the assistant teacher is a young man. He loves the school's library, art room and the gym. He told me he read our favorite book "The Giving Tree" to the classroom.

On the second day of school he asked me to give him paper money in the future to buy lunches although he did add afterword that he loved the lunch I made him.

Seth dropped Julia off at her classroom. She keeps telling me she is too big to kiss me goodbye. It's sad, but I get flooded by her kisses at home, so that makes me feel better. The director asked her today if she had a great day and of course, Julia said she had a bad day. She says everything opposite she knows people expect to hear. Oh, it reminds me so much of David.

I'm looking forward to this school year and hope both kids will have fun and make some good friends.

We Are Exhausted....

because we just returned from our vacation visiting Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. As we (the kids) were having a great time, I promised myself not to leave the house again until they are at least 15 years old. Yes, they lived on the beach for 5 days straight, yes they ate in the restaurants 3 times a day (David's dream come true. Am I really such a bad cook? ), yes they visited a light house (the reason we went up North), yes the kids went on the rides, yes we slept in 5 different hotels throughout this trip (more excitement for the kids), yes David built a diving board and kept jumping off of it.

We went on this trip without making any reservations or doing any research. It is so not typical of us especially of Seth who likes to plan a vacation at least a year ahead. We barely see each other at night to discuss our days let alone our vacations. So, Seth took a week off and we just decided to drive up North to Maine. Then a few days later we (Seth and I) couldn't take the beaches anymore, so we drove up 3 more hours to Vermont just to show the kids the Ben and Jerry factory. It turned out to be the best move as we came across a lake located 2 min away from the factory. We spent the whole day there and the kids had a great time playing, kayaking and meeting new kids. I was able to squeeze 5 hours of uninterrupted knitting. Everybody was happy.

I really don't want to leave my house for a long time. Ask me tomorrow though when the school starts and I'll probably be ready to get out of this town... alone.

A Day At The Beach.

The summer is almost over and it seems as though it flew by. We squeezed a few days at the beach, amusement parks, zoos, but the most memorable among them was an adventure to the beach this weekend. The kids, especially David, spent hours digging, working on some construction. Other kids came, helped and left and David still continued digging to China. I don't think he even noticed the ocean until hours later. Of course, then he wouldn't get out of the water. I just sat back and watched David and Julia interact with each other and other kids. I might not say this in a few years, but right now I'm very happy that they are getting older. They are getting more mature (just a tiny bit) and our summers are getting easier and more enjoyable every year.

The Little Red Lighthouse

How many lives can a lighthouse have? Built in 1889, the North Hook Beacon at Sandy Hook, NJ became obsolete and was dismantled in 1917. After several years in storage, it was rebuilt in 1921 at Jeffrey's Hook until it too became obsolete in 1947. However, in 1942, a book titled, "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" became a children's favorite and resulted in an ourpouring of support prior to its proposed demolition in 1951. Because of this, the Little Red Lighthouse still stands at Jeffrey's Hook as a protected historical landmark of New York City.

After reading this story to the kids, I asked them if they'd like to see the Little Red Lighthouse. They weren't sure I was on the level, but they both were very interested. I can understand their confusion since most of what we read to them in story books wasn't real.

We parked in Fort Lee and took a bus across very heavy bridge traffic. Neither David nor Julia seemed to mind as they love taking a bus ride into the city. (Just wait until it becomes a part of your daily commute!)

Once across, we had a bit of exploring to do since there's no clear path to the river from the George Washington Bridge Bus terminal. After walking for a half hour, we finally found the lighthouse. The kids were a little disappointed that we couldn't go into the lighthouse, but they still had a fun time just the same.

Going back was a bit quicker as there was a faster path by 181st St., but Julia decided that it was even easier to ride on Daddy's shoulders than walk. *sigh*

I'd say this was a successful spur-of-the-moment activity on a overcast Saturday afternoon!