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Drowning is a Silent Killer

2011
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You can also find this post on my other blogs, Sensible Cents and Kitchen Conundrum, but because I feel that it is so incredibly important, I am posting it everywhere.

Summer is here and it’s time to head to the pool and to the beach. It’s common that before you go, you check to make sure you have enough liquids, and enough sunscreen. But are you prepared for an emergency?  Sure, you have band-aids, and bug repellant, but are you prepared for a drowning, or a near-drowning incident?

I actually learned this a few years ago, and it really has stuck with me and I remind myself of it every year. Drowning doesn’t look like drowning. If you think that drowning involves wildly flailing arms and loud screams for help, you should think again. Because you are dead wrong. Drowning doesn’t look like you think it would look. It doesn’t look at all like it does in the movies or on TV. There are very few warning signs. In fact, most drownings occur when people are no further away than 20 feet.

According to the CDC, the statistics are staggering. More than one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger and for every child who dies from drowning, another four received emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries. Drowning is the second leading cause of death among children in this age range.  And, worse still, drownings are the leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 4, and three children die every day as a result of drowning! The sad part? Drowning is preventable.

I’m going to share here part of an excellent article entitled “It Doesn’t Look Like They’re Drowning” featured in the Coast Guard’s On Scene Magazine (Fall 06, Page 14) written by Aviation Survival Technician First Class Mario Vittone and Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D. There is a lot of bold here, because it’s really that important to pay attention to.

In the article, they describe the typical Instinctive Drowning Response as follows:

(The “Instinctive Drowning Response” are actions that represent a person’s attempts to avoid the actual or perceived suffocation in the water. The suffocation in water triggers a constellation of autonomic nervous system responses that result in external, unlearned, instinctive drowning movements. Commit these to memory!)

1. Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.

2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouth of a drowning person is not above the surface of the water long enough to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning person’s mouth is above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouth starts to sink below the surface of the water.

3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”

Here are some Signs of Drowning to watch for the next time you’re swimming with your kids or others:

  • Head low in the water, mouth at water level
  • Head tilted back with open mouth
  • Hair over forehead or eyes
  • Eyes glassy, empty and unable to focus
  • Eyes closed
  • Hyperventilating or gasping
  • Not using legs or not kicking
  • Body is vertical and upright
  • Trying to swim in a certain direction but not making any progress
  • Trying to roll over on the back

Here are some Prevent Drowning Measures you can take:

Be Aware

Keep your eyes open and watch your children! Do not leave them for a second unattended around water. This is the most important thing you can do to save your child’s life. Even when things seem ok, they may not be. A good way to make sure is to ask your kid or the person you’re swimming with if he or she is all right. If they are rather still, do not answer or have a blank stare, then you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them! As any parent knows, kids make noise in the water. If they are not making noise, find out why and get them out of the water ASAP. One thing I do with my girls, that I actually learned as a SCUBA Rescue Diver is to make a “BIG OKAY” sign with my hand on my head and my arm outstretched like the letter “O”.  They can see me and my “BIG OKAY” from wherever they are in a pool and do it back to me. When they do that, I know that they are okay. If they don’t do it, I then hop in the water and go get them. Every time we go to the pool or the beach, I remind them to make the sign, so I don’t have to drag them out of the water.

Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)

Are you up to date with your CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) accreditation? If you aren’t, go and learn and get recertified every two years. CPR can help a child stay alive with little or no brain damage.

Life Jackets are a “MUST!”

You wouldn’t let your child go un-seatbelted  (hopefully!) in the car so don’t let them go unprotected in the water either. Make sure kids wear life jackets every single time they are in and around natural bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers or the ocean, even if they know how to swim.

Fence the Pool and Cover It

If you have a home pool or are at another person’s home that has a pool, be sure that it is fenced in. Every pool should have a four–sided fence, with self–closing and self–latching gates around the entire pool.  And make sure the pool is covered when not in use. If it’s an above ground pool, make sure the ladder/steps are inaccessible to children.

Teach Your Children How To Swim!

The American Red Cross gives very cost efficient swimming lessons at a pool near you. Take advantage of their classes.

I hope that you and your family and your friends have an awesome, safe Summer filled with laughter and joy and good food!

Filed Under: Family, Les Enfants, Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Missing the Sweetness Of the ’70′s

2011
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My oldest needed to memorize the Preamble tonight for a test tomorrow. I sang the Preamble as I remembered learning it from Schoolhouse Rock. Then we watched the original version on You Tube about 50 times and by the end, she had it down pat. She was happy and went off to bed humming the tune.

Then I sat down and watched about two hours worth of various School House Rocks. They were great! I was instantly transported back to 1975 (or thereabouts) and to an era of time when life was simpler. Maybe it wasn’t so simple in reality. But it sure seemed that way.

In those days, we had only three channels, and maybe 2 more that came in variations of  fuzzy or less fuzzy, depending on the tin foil balls you put on the antennas and their respective directions. There weren’t any music videos that showed every part of everyone’s bodies and there certainly wasn’t Hannah Montana and her parent-less friends teaching bad attitudes and smart alec retorts. We actually had to sing the songs and make up our own dances and scenes to go with them. We used our imaginations. And we never would have dreamed rolling our eyes or flipping our hair to our parents for fear of a smack or being grounded “for life”.

We used to play outside, for hours, unattended, only to be called in at dinner time. Now, I would never dream of letting my kids out of my sight because of who might steal them or hurt them. Or maybe they might get hurt all on their own. And you can forget riding your big wheel up and down the street with all the cars around or playing kickball under the street lights glow. It’s not going to happen. That carefree era has long been gone.

But I wish it weren’t. Because it would be good for them. Those days, it gave us strength, and confidence. And we learned so much.

I wish they could have the same kind of carefree days I had as a child. But they can’t. The world is so different now. So we’ll keep watching Schoolhouse Rock and that will have to be as close to the 70′s that they will get. Until I crochet them a multicolored hat.

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Food Blog Camp. It was amazing!

2011
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Because I am so excited about my long weekend away and still trying to shake the sand out of my shoes, I am going to ask you to come visit me over at Kitchen Conundrum.  I’ve been posting there with more regularity. There are a lot of changes over there! I think you will like it! And you can read my recap of our little trip to the tropics. And watch my video. It was so much fun to make!

I’ll be back here soon. Once the laundry is done.

Thanks so much!

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The Big Apple Circus! A Fun Family Day!

2010
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I am not usually a fan of the circus. But with just 1,619 seats, and none farther away than 50’ from the single ring, The Big Apple Circus, is an intimate and captivating affair.  Unlike the large circus’ with their overwhelming glitz and sensory overload from all the commotion imbued with multiple rings and simultaneous acts, The Big Apple Circus is wholesome and uncomplicated.  It is truly my favorite circus and I am thrilled to have been able to share it with my children this past weekend.

This year marks The Big Apple Circus’ 33rd year, its presentation aptly named Dance On!  The talented, and delightful comic Mark Gindick who stars as the Man Who Dances along with Barry Lubin,  who portrays the infamous Grandma The Clown, made the show complete withtheir lively and lovable antics, hysterical for both young and old alike.

Under the artistic direction of Guillaume Dufresnoy, this event featured performers from all around the world.

The versatile and charming ringmaster Kevin Venardos, led us through a little more than two hours of laughs, hilarious routines, and dazzling feats.

My kid’s faces lit up with excitement and awe for all the acrobatic acts, such as The Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Troupe from China who performed a tantalizing lasso act and an acrobatic ensemble all while riding monocycles! 

 

The African Acrobats/ Acrobats Internationale pumped up the fun with a high-energy dance to the rhythms of world beat music and then climbed a single pole with feats of incredible strength and agility that makes climbing trees seem like something for amateurs. The beautiful Regina Dobrovitskaya, who hails from Russia, entranced the audience with her flying trapeze way above our heads. From Bulgaria, performer Andrey Mantchev gave us a stunning hand–balancing performance and stood literally on his head on top of a balance pole no larger than a palm.

 The five young women from Mongolia, X Bud Roses Troupe, wowed and amazed us with contortion acts of strength and flexibility leaving us spellbound! (Although I am not so sure their dentist is pleased! Look closely at the ladies on the bottom! OH MY!)

They were astonished with, Girma Tshehai a charming performer from Ethiopia who excited us with an act of juggling that was simply delightful!

My personal favorite was Rob Torres who played the sweet and playful International Man of Mirth. With simple props he pantomimes and engages the audience in his witty and uproarious behavior. I loved one of his sketches that just used a suitcase, two wooden jewelry boxes and an oversized alarm clock. It was so entertaining!

The pinnacle of the show was when Jenny Vidbel filled the ring with a playful chorus line of 12 white mini-horses and showcased the talents of many adorable pooches and a few endearing goats! I had no idea that goats could be trained so well!

The Big Apple Circus, in the words of my children, was “the best day ever!” I would have to agree.

 “The Big Apple Circus is YOUR circus, Big Apple is back in town!”  And it should not be missed!

Ticket Information

Performances of Dance On! began on Thursday, October 21st and will run for 123 shows through Sunday, January 9th under the Big Top at Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center (62nd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues).

Tickets for Dance On! start at $15 and are available by calling (888) 541-3750 or at www.bigapplecircus.org. The Circus Box Office, located in front of the Big Top, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 8 PM, and Sunday and Monday from 10 AM to 6 PM.

For groups of 15 people or more, for inquiries about wheelchair-accessible seating or for any additional information please call the Ticket Info Line at (800) 922-3772.

Disclosure:  I was not compensated to write this post, however, I recieved tickets to see The Big Apple Circus to provide you with this review.

Filed Under: Family, GiveAways & Reviews, Life Tagged With: , , , , ,

Fall is Officially Here

2010
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With Falls arrival, I yearn for the crisp outdoors and all the activites you can do now that the summer heat has been banished from the land. The vibrant colors of  trees and the nip in the air reminds me to pull out my favorite sweaters and some warm fleeces. The open toed shoes get tucked away and the hiking boots come out.

One of my most favorite Fall activities is going apple picking. I love taking a bite of that first apple freshly plucked from the tree, the crunch and the tart juice on your hands as you wander the orchards in search of the perfect apples to pick. It is wonderful that they let you eat as many apples as you want while you pick.  But don’t eat too many- you should save room for the Cider donughts.

 This year, we headed up to Warwick, NY, about a two hour drive from our home.  There were several places to choose from, but we found ourselves arriving at Maskers Orchards. We had heard that going early was best as every orchard gets packed with the NYers escaping the city. They were right! We arrived at 10am and there was plenty of parking and it was rather empty. But not for long! By 1pm when we were finished, it was a mob scene and we were happy to leave.

We picked from a variety of Jonagolds, Red Delicious and Empire apples. For just $24.95 per 1/2 bushel bag you can pick anywhere from 20-25lbs of apples in just one bag. Which, by the way, is a TON of apples. Certainly enough to make several pies, crisps and tarte tartins with enough left over for apple butter or apple sauce. You may still have enough to give away to family and friends after all of that. Yes, it’s that many apples!

Maskers has many activites for families such as pony rides, a haunted house, a small petting zoo, face painting, a small corn maze, live music and pumpkin picking (not in a field). They also have a quaint country store where you can purchase containers of jellies, salsa, honey, and maple syrup.

You can purchase their cider donuts from the food stand, but hold off, because they don’t make them fresh every morning, but rather the night before. They are more like heavy, cakey, sugar donuts than cider donuts. For real cider donuts, you should head over to Soons Orchards in New Hampton, NY. Their doughnuts are golden brown and dusted with a combination of sugar and cinnamon and are extremely light and airy. The pale, golden-apple-colored interior is incredibly moist and packed with apple flavor. Exactly what you want a cider doughnut to be! We had purchased our doughnuts at Maskers, but sadly disappointed, we went in search of a better doughnut and found Soon’s at a farmers market in downtown Warwick. How lucky we were! So we bought another half dozen and those became the grown up’s doughnuts and the Maskers became the kid’s doughnuts. I am mean like that.

After the farmers market, we ate lunch in downtown Warwick. It’s a very cute  town with lots of little shops and places to grab a bite. It’s also very close to the Sugarloaf Art & Craft Village, a crafts community with artistic items like paintings, stained glass, photography, pottery, antiques, jewelry and woodworks, candles, soap, sculpture and much much more! That’s a trip for another day. Today, we also had hiking on our minds.

Satiated from all the apples and doughnuts and a bit of real food, we headed over to Bear Mountain State Park to hike around the lake. For the month of October, the park celebrates Oktoberfest every weekend with vendor booths and a lot of food and beer. While this does seem to draw a rather young and boisterous crowd, they are pretty well behaved and once you are on the trails, you can’t even hear the music anymore.  So, you still get that outdoorsy feel in a beautiful setting (that is far better than any backyard!)

We had a lot of fun just going around the lake and the kids climbed up all the rocks and rolled down the hills. It exhausted them thouroughly! Some day soon we hope to go back and take some marked trails like we did long before children were born, but we think we have to find some milder ones without too much danger and butt sliding. We’ll save the hard trails for when the little guy is older! Of course, by then, who knows if we will be able to handle them anymore ourselves!

So, if you have a day free, head outside and enjoy the cool air and some leaves crunching beneath your shoes, before it gets too cold and the snow begins to fall. Because that’s when I head inside and under the covers to hibernate for the winter!

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The holidays are over!

2010
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I could not be more happy. All the major Jewish holidays are finally OVER! For this year, anyway. The entire month of September were filled with holidays, more food than should be allowed to be consumed and various outings to friends houses,  to our house and multiple excursions to synagogue. Not that I don’t like the holidays, I do, but this year it was just all too much. I am worn out. Beaten down, exhausted.

The kids will go back to school tomorrow. I can not wait to have a few hours all to my self. I think I want to just stay in bed and watch Rachel Ray and The View. Totally vege out. Or maybe I will go for a swim. I need some real movement in my life. It would probably make me feel better. Especially after everything I ate this past month. I am looking forward to my Greek yogurt breakfasts and bowls of cereal for dinner. It will  be great to get back to “Normal”.  Although, I did hear someone did say we have to start cleaning now for Passover.

Shoot me now.

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Did Someone Say Birthday?

2010
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Yesterday, was my Birthday. I have been trying to avoid it, not bringing it up, and not making a big deal out of it. If it weren’t for Facebook blabbing to everyone, I don’t think anyone would have noticed. I wanted a very low key, low stress day. My darling husband and wonderful children actually let me have just that. Which is exactly what I wanted. I couldn’t ask for anything more. They let me sleep in and woke me with Blueberry Peach crepes and coffee. They brought me the entire NY Times and News Day from Sunday. I read them both. Cover to cover.In bed, with my pjs on.

My husband surprised me by taking the day off. Because, he said, someone had to watch the kids while I went to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa for a massage. It was heavenly. I was so happy just to have him take a Monday off. I wasn’t sure which was the better present, him being home for an extra day or me having a massage. Either way, they were both great presents. And completely “hoopla” free.

He made me dinner. And then we had cake. The kids sang “Happy Birthday”. I blew out candles and ate icing.

I am pretty sure, this was the best Birthday ever.

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A Day Out- The South Street Seaport With Kids

2010
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Thursday, me and two of my littlest people spent the day downtown in the South Street Seaport. We were invited to explore a brand new playground, Imagination Playground, located at Burling Slip just across the street from Pier 17 by the awesome Role Mommy and the fantastic Mom in the City.  Designed by architect, David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group, to encourage child-directed, unstructured free play, which is critical to all aspects of child development, this play area allows Imagination Playground kids to constantly reconfigure their environment  and create their own course of play. From using giant foam blocks, mats, wagons, fabric, crates and more, it allows kids to play, dream, build and explore.

The park has many different play areas within its gates. Throughout, you can see the distinctive blocks,  large vibrant blue foam block shapes that encouraged open ended free play.  Several kids used these blocks in the fountain/splash pad as a personal rafts, or they could be seen building a slide for the many balls around the sand pit.

Speaking of sand, there was plenty of sand and water to go around on the hot day and there were many Imagination Playground “Loose Parts” that the kids could use to build and dig. There were shovels and sand rakes, pvc elbows and even wooden wagons to fill and haul sand and supplies. There were endless, exciting items they could use.

I know my own children were having a great time and it was very hard to get them to leave when it was time to go. I think we will most certainly have to go back there again. But I recommend water shoes and a change of clothes! The splash pad was a huge hit and we came home full of sand in our shoes.

Imagination Playground’s  location at the South Street Seaport helped shape the playground’s design.  The historic shipping industry that took took place at Burling Slip is reflected in the parks shape, it’s mock masts, the ropes and pulleys, the sand and water features, and it’s just out the back door of another hidden NYC gem, The South Street Seaport Museum.

The South Street Seaport Museum lies beyond a quiet, unassuming storefront at 12 Fulton Street. We must have walked past hundreds of times over the years but have never ventured inside. I am so glad we did!

The South Street Seaport Museumtells the story of the Seaport, Lower Manhattan, and the piers and harbor. The museum’s focus begins in the 16th century, the time of the first European interactions with the Native Americans to the first Dutch settlement and through the present time.  It utilizes the area’s historic restored Schermerhorn Row, the tall ship Wavertree and other vessels, it’s collection of art and artifacts to capture and tell the story of the port’s role in the development of the City, the State and the Nation as an economic, cultural and political power. 

The museum has many family activities, including Free Fridays, miniMates, a toddler playgroup, and several walking tours. You can even enjoy sailing on the Schooner Pioneer or aboard the Tugboat, W.O. Decker.  They also have many school programs available. (You can call for more information, 212-748-8753 or email  familyprograms@seany.org)

During our visit, we really enjoyed looking at the beautiful furniture and artifacts from the exhibit, DecoDence: Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers Aboard the SS Normandie.  This may not be of great interest to small children, but my 7 year old thought the dining table and children’s menu and toys were “cool”.

I, personally, enjoyed seeing several items depicting the Andrea Doria and other ocean liners in the lobby of the museum. Having known several people who scuba dove on some of the shipwrecks, it was exciting to see up close, without ever leaving land.

To finish the day, we boarded the tall ship Peking. We discovered what it was like to walk in the footsteps of the sailors, hauling the lines and raising a sail. The older kids hoisted the sail and the smaller kids were treated to holding the line while the sail came down. They then got a look into the ship’s “wet lab” and viewed several small sea creatures including a horseshoe crab and a starfish. It was the highlight of the ship’s tour.

During the day we also enjoyed lunch catered by Tom Colicchio’s  ‘wichcraft and Stew Leonard’s, which served very yummy ice cream sandwiches for dessert!  The kids were very excited to each receive a gift bag full of loot from the museum, including a cardboard telescope, crayons, a small boat foam project, a ball and a garden spade, perfect for digging in the sand.

We really had a great day downtown!

Filed Under: Family, Les Enfants, Memes and Bloggy Things Tagged With: , , , , ,

We Interrupt This Project for a Trip to Hershey Park

2010
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We interrupted the painting project for a long weekend away with Les Enfants at Hershey Park. Leaving early Friday morning we drove straight with only two pit stops along the way.  The entire trip was only 4.5 hours. We arrived in Harrisburg, PA, which according to Forbes Magazine, is one of the best cities to live and have a family.  We beg to differ after driving around the downtown area and the suburb we drove through to get there from our hotel.

I am a big fan of Starwood hotels and having my SPG points account at the ready at all times, we were happy to book our hotel using cash for one night and points for the second night.  This made for a rather inexpensive stay, which was great. We choose The Four Points Sheraton in Harrisburg this time. It was the first time we had ever stayed in a Four Points hotel, Sheraton’s lower tier version and we were pleasantly surprised.  While the hotel rooms were decorated in circa 1988 fashion and the bathrooms were extremely worn, the hotel does have an improvement plan in place and they are proudly showing their new design scheme on a board in the lobby. The sooner the better would ideal for this hotel.  But on the plus side was the incredibly warm indoor pool, a very welcome relief at the end of a long, hot day and a lot of fun for the kids. Also, the free continental breakfast was one of the better ones I have seen. Urns of coffee, milk, juices, individual boxes of cereals, yogurts, toasts and bagels, danishes and donuts.  They even had some whole fruits to take. Very impressive for a free breakfast.

We spent Friday afternoon in the hotel pool and ventured out to check out Harrisburg. There are about four nice blocks that we saw and that was all. The neighborhood on the way to the downtown area seemed very sketchy and very run down. You can see it was once a nice place, but it certainly isn’t any longer. I am guessing that Forbes writer was in a very different location.Needless to say, it was a very early evening. We grabbed dinner at the local grocery store, Giant, and purchased our Hershey Park tickets there as well. This is the cheapest place to buy the tickets unless you have a really good coupon to the park (+$15 or more off).

We ate dinner, swam, and headed to bed.

We awoke early and got a good head start making it to the park just as it was opening. Heeding some good advice, we headed directly to the back of the park and started there with rides working our way back towards the front entrance. This was great advice as we never had to wait very long on lines. People have a tendency to work amusement parks the other way, starting in the front, becoming caught in the lines and allure of the rides surrounding them.  We just put blinders on the kids and went to the back of the park, promising rides soon to those who kept pace.

There are quite a lot of rides for the very little kids, like Le Petit, who is now 2.5yrs old. He had a blast on the mini Scambler, the mini train, the mini swings. There must have been at least 15 different rides just for kids his size. The big girls got to go on a lot of rides that were suited to the older kids.  However, La Moyen had the best of both worlds, she got to accompany her little brother on his rides while also riding the big kid rides, thus going on twice as many rides as anyone else. This argument proved to assuage any anger on having to chaperon her little brother.

One thing we highly recommend for the day is to buy the souvenir cup. It comes filled with a soda and costs just over $8 with tax, but it is so worth it. You can get $.99 refills all day long. We refilled it with mostly water, which was free, but we did drink four sodas too. Bottled water throughout the park is $3.  We would have exhausted all our funds considering how much water we drank between the five of us. It was a sweltering, hot day.

We did not bring our bathing suits, but have made note to definitely bring them the next time we go as there is a large section of the park that is strictly a waterpark.

Hershey has everything! From Chocolate World, where you can create your own candy bar and see a movie about the history of the chocolate company to the amusement park which hosts a zoo, a seal show, waterpark, mini and full sized rides and some serious rollercoasters.  It really has something for everyone.

We are not a family of coaster goers (although the big girl is dying to go on one) so we finished the park in about seven hours. We then spent another two hours in Chocolate World, seeing the film and the kids perused the gift shop. They were very good though only buying one candy item each.

An exhausted, hot and wilted family headed back to the hotel where we went swimming again and sent dad out for a $5 pizza.

Sunday morning we awoke, had breakfast and checked out.

We decided to take a leisurely drive back to NYC through the local roads of PA and Amish country. The landscape is beautiful. There are horse and dairy farms everywhere, with more corn growing that I have ever seen in my life. I think the entire state of Pennsylvania is planted with corn.

First we stopped in Lancaster, which is an stunning little city. So beautiful with the old  row houses and carriage houses preserved in pristine condition. There are outdoor cafes and every shop you can imagine. It’s has that quintessential small town feel. We just stopped long enough to take a few pictures but we certainly will go back there to check out the town more.

We also stopped at President James Buchanan’s mansion, Wheatland. The lovely mansion’s grounds feature the Wheatland’s Gardens and the  Tanger Arboretum, which has more than 100 species of trees from all around the world. It  was closed for the day but we managed to snap a few pictures there too.

As we continued on, making our way through the farmland of Amish counrty, we wanted to stop and sightsee a bit, but the Amish consider Sunday their holy day and everything is closed. Even their farmside stands. Which it too bad because I would have loved to try some homemade root beer! Guess we have to try again on another day.  So we just enjoyed seeing them and waving to them in their buggies along the route. They are really friendly to outsiders.

We did see some interesting things though with them. Like the kids were mostly barefooted walking on the highway. With the temperatures in the 90′s, that had to have hurt their feet on the scorching pavement.  And these boys, with their rollerblades being towed behind their families carriage. And the carriage parking area at the local Wal-Mart.

We passed through the towns of Bird-In-Hand and Intercourse, giggling about how much money they must make on signs sold to the tourists.

On a corner of one of the many small towns we ventured through, there was a farmer selling fresh produce, so we stopped to buy a dozen ears of corn. We paid $4.50 for the dozen and this is no small price, because at our local Stop & Shop, it’s only $2 a dozen. Hope it is good! But I do feel better supporting locally grown vegetables and he didn’t look like someone I would argue with, wearing all his camouflage and all.

We made a pit stop for a late lunch at a diner and decided since it was nearing three in the afternoon, that we had best find the highway and head home. We finally pulled into the driveway a little after 8pm and collapsed into bed. Tired, and weary from driving for so long but happy to have gone and to have had a very relaxing day trip home.

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My Little Dancers

2010
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My girls love to dance. One did Ballet, one did Hip Hop this year. So twice a week I would drive a town away to take them to dance class. They each had dance one hour a week on different days which meant it was not long enough to actually leave, go anywhere and come back, so one would go in and the other would stay in the car with me and the little guy and we would do homework, listen to music or just hang out and talk. I also often used that time to return emails, phone calls and to tweet.  It was a nice routine.

This summer they only offer classes one night a week, but since they both want to expand their repertoire, they are taking both tap and ballet. But of course they are in different levels, which means one child’s classes are from 5-7 back to back while the other’s is 6-8 back to back.  I don’t know what I was thinking because now I am either stuck in the car from 5-8 or I have to find someplace close to there to be able to hold one kid until 6 and be back at 7 for the other. Drop one off at 5, drop off the other at 6, come back at 7 for the first and come back again at 8 for the last.  I am worn out just thinking about it already! And the worst part, it’s prime dinner time. So when the heck will anyone eat?  I think there will be lots of baggies of cold pasta, veggies and cheese sandwiches.  I can’t even begin to imagine the meltdowns from the little guy being trapped in his seat all that time. We really need to find someplace nearby to hang out.

I really hope for the Fall session that we have a better schedule or I will have to get a dvd player and a fold out couch for the minivan.

Filed Under: Family, Les Enfants, Life
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