Jakey says the darnest things

For the past few days Jake has been up in Maine with my sister-in-law Diane and his cousin Kayla. Earlier today Diane took the kids to York Wild Kingdom where they have all sorts of carnival rides and games. Apparently they went up on the Ferris Wheel and when they came back down Jake said he didn't like the ride, he LOVED it. He then proceed to talk about the "magnificent view" from the top. Di was cracking up at his vocabulary.

I've talked to Di a couple of times each day but Jake hasn't really missed us enough to want to stop playing and chat. We talked to him very briefly last night and then missed a call from him a little earlier this evening. About 20 minutes after he called I noticed we had missed the call on my cell phone so we called him back. At the campground up in Maine you have to walk away from the trailer to get a good cell signal. After he got my voice mail he walked back into the trailer with Kayla, stomped his foot, and announced to his Aunt Diane "Seriously? She doesn't even have time to talk to her son!?!" Di was still laughing about it when I called back 20 minutes later.

Jake has done wonderfully being off by himself. I was worried that he would get homesick and that he'd certainly miss Daddy but I guess he's been having a blast and behaving really well for his Aunt Diane. I am so incredibly proud of him.

Jake's first sleepover AND his first vacation away from us

Diane (my sister-in-law, not me): So, we thought Jake could spend the night with us and then go up to Maine with us for the weekend.

Me: Huh?

Diane: And no, before you ask, I'm not drunk. I'm perfectly sober and making this offer.

Me: You want to take Jake for the weekend? But you're taking him next weekend when we're out of town. Then you'd have him both weekends in a row.

Diane: I know.

Me: Are you sure you're not drunk?

My new favorite picture of Leo

I just got this picture from my sister-in-law Diane. It was taken many months ago when Leo was still a very little puppy with her dog, Bruce.

Aren't they adorable? Especially since, as a rescued greyhound, Bruce is trained to chase little things like Leo and yet they get along so well.

Into the vortex

For the past week Hannah has been in Seattle and Leo, every now and then, seems a little confused as to her absence. I was telling my sister-in-law, also named Diane, about this and she said he probably wonders what she did to get sent away.

We always use the side door of our house to go in and out. I can probably count on one hand the number of times we've used our front door before today. We did have to use it today though because I painted the breezeway floor with bond adhesive before we laid down the linoleum. Most of the day we had to use the front door, including when Leo went up to Di's doggie daycare. Lincoln was standing on the front step, with the door open, calling his name but Leo just stood there and looked at him. This is exceptionally strange since Leo usually just sits by the door anxiously awaiting the trip up to Di's house so that he can play with the other dogs.

Me: It was so funny this morning. When Link went to bring Leo up to your house he sat by the front door and didn't know what to do. He didn't seem to want to go out that door.

Diane: He's probably thinking "Is that the door Hannah went out?"

Eaten alive

Monday was a beautiful day and we spent most of the afternoon and all of the evening in the pool. The other Snow's came down to join us as well and we had a nice dinner on the pool deck before starting a fire to hopefully keep the bugs away.

Well, it didn't work.

I officially have at least 70 mosquito bites on my body. Most of them are on my back and shoulders where I can't reach them because I was in the pool and only my shoulders and head were above the water. I have 15 of them on my forehead, cheeks, and ears. Yes, that many.

I look like a castmate on Survivor. Or like I have the chicken pox.

Maine

Last weekend we went up to Maine to stay at the campground seasonal that Link's brother and sister-in-law own. The kids and I went up with Diane and her sister Donna (who has the seasonal next door) on Friday night. When we got up there we unpacked and then headed out for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. Hannah absolutely loved it and mastered chopsticks almost instantly. Jake struggled a little bit but once he started spearing them he was fine. He did, however, fall asleep at the restaurant because it was pretty late.

Saturday morning was incredibly sunny and almost unbearably hot. We say out in front of the trailers and just hung out for most of the morning. High tide was in the middle of the day so we couldn't go the beach. Instead we filled up the kiddie pool that Diane and Donna keep for the dogs and let the kids hang out in there. By the time the tide had gone down it was too cloudy to go to the beach so we just hung out back at the trailer.

Kayla, Hannah, and Jake explored the campground and went down to the playground and rec center. Hannah has her new cell phone so it was nice to be able to send them off with that and she would text us with constant updates. Once she discovered picture texting she'd even send us pictures of them playing to prove they were at the playground.

Saturday night Lincoln drove up to join us. We all headed out to dinner and had a wonderful time just kicking back that night.

Sunday we headed down to the beach after high tide. It was pretty much sunny the entire time with a few clouds here and there. The kids had an absolute blast at the beach and even I managed to get in the water and hang out for awhile. Considering how much I'm not a fan of the ocean this was a big deal. Hannah and Kayla hung out on an inner tube for hours just riding and waves and Jake ran back and forth in the waves like I've never seen him do before.

The entire trip made for an absolutely fantastic weekend and it was so nice to hang out not only as a family but with Diane, Kayla, and Donna as well before Hannah leaves for Seattle next week.

We really do live a pretty good life.

Some of my favorite Jakey quotes lately

Jake has been full of some good quotes lately.

The first one was down on the Vineyard. We were getting ready to leave and he was hiding something behind his back.

Link: Jake, what do you have behind your back?

Jake: Ummm....nothing. This is just my natural pose.

The funny thing is I can't even remember what he was hiding because we were laughing so hard.

And then the other night Diane and Kayla were down here. The kids were swimming in the pool and Diane, Link, and I were watching the kids. I don't remember what startled Jake so much.

Jake: That scared the hell out of me!

Me: Jake, don't say that.

Jake (very seriously): I'm sorry. I just got carried way.

Doggie Daycare = Doggie Exhaustion

I never thought I'd be a dog owner.

I never thought I'd be a dog lover.

I certainly never thought I'd own a dog that went to doggie daycare.

Guess what?

I am.

Leopold is such a doll. It is so pathetic how much love we lavish on that little pup. I get jealous when he chooses to snuggle with Hannah instead of me. I'm ecstatic that he prefers me over Lincoln. When I was gone for three days working on the office clean-up I missed him as much as I missed Jake and Hannah. He is quite literally my third baby.

My sister-in-law, the other Diane Snow, owns a doggie daycare. Today was the first day since we got Leo that both Lincoln and I had to go to work so Leo went to Di's doggie daycare today. Talk about a seriously worn out pup. He is exhausted. Tonight Hannah was playing on her laptop next to him and this was the most energy he could muster up. He didn't even try to eat her mouse and he chews on everything these days.

Lincoln's birthday dinner

Last night was Lincoln's birthday dinner up at Justin and Diane's house. We were also celebrating Gail's birthday which is on October 20th. Originally the dinner was scheduled to be at our house but Diane was pet-sitting a friend's 5 month old puppy so she asked if we could move it up there so that she wouldn't have to leave the puppy home alone in its crate. The kids of course absolutely loved the puppy. It was an adorable little King Charles Spaniel, I believe.

We were there pretty late last night and the puppy, and the kids, were winding down. Jake decided to stretch out on the couch and the puppy decided that looked like a good place to sleep as well. This picture was taken with Lincoln's cell phone so it's not the greatest quality but it was too adorable not to post.

Are they trying to tell me something?

Saturday night is Lincoln's birthday dinner and, as you all know, I've been sidelined from doing anything but providing a clean house and the alcohol. Well guess what. Now I don't even have to provide the clean house.

Lincoln called to inform me this morning that Di had called him and asked if we could move his birthday dinner up the street to their house because she is dog-sitting for a friend and doesn't want to leave the dogs at her house alone all evening.

Now the only thing I'm responsible for is a couple of bottles of wine and some beer. This is the easiest birthday dinner that I've ever thrown for my husband.

Descendants of a Mayflower passenger

As I've stated on this blog before, I find it incredibly cool that Lincoln and the kids can trace their lineage back to the Mayflower. Next week Hannah and her classmates will be taking a field trip to Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower. A few years ago Lincoln's Aunt Elaine and Uncle Russell gave us the documentation showing the family lineage back to Peter Brown, one of the 41 signers of the Mayflower Compact in 1620, so I put together a little sheet for Hannah to show exactly how she is connected to someone who actually came over on the Mayflower. A picture of the document is below but this is what it says. As she read it I think she was a little bored at first until she hit the part about Robert Snow and then she got really excited. She's excited to take this to school with her tomorrow and show her teacher. And yes, it's written as one long run-on sentence but I did that on purpose.

Hannah Snow and the Mayflower

Peter Brown and his wife Mary had a daughter named Rebeckah Brown who married William Snow II and had a son named Joseph Snow who married Hopestill Alden and had a son named Jonathan Snow who married Sarah Soule and had a son named Samuel Snow I who married Deborah Tinkham and had a son named Samuel Snow II who married Elizabeth "Betty" Perkins and had a son named Martin Snow who married Lydia Hayes and had a son named Alden Snow who married Pamilia Rolph and had a son named John Snow who married Ella Pease and had a son named Frank Snow who married Evie Fuller and had a son named Phillip Snow who married Emily HANNAH Johnson and had a son named Robert Snow who is otherwise known as Grandpa. He married Gail Wright (otherwise known as Grandma) and they had a son named Lincoln Snow who Hannah calls Daddy. He married Diane Lentz (commonly referred to as Mommy and they had a daughter named....

Hannah Grace Snow

Peter Brown, one of the 41 signers of the Mayflower Compact in 1620 and a passenger on the Mayflower, is Hannah's Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandpa.

Horrible wife? Or 1950's husband?

Lincoln's birthday is this Saturday. We actually have a thing to go to on Friday night and a block party down the street on Saturday afternoon. I asked him over the weekend if he would like to have his family over for dinner or if it would be too much to do over the weekend. He seemed rather non-committal so I figured we'd figure out something over the course of the week. Yesterday morning Lincoln dropped the kids off at his parents house and came home for this conversation.

Link: So my mom is cooking lasagna to bring over Saturday night.

Me: Oh, okay. So we're doing dinner?

Link: Yep.

Me: Cool.

On my drive to the office I figured I'd call his brother and sister-in-law that afternoon to invite them down for dinner. Before that could happen Lincoln and I had lunch together since he was working in Cambridge for the day.

Link: So Di is bringing the cake on Saturday.

Me: Huh? You called and invited them already?

Link: Yep, I just figured I'd do it.

Me: Oh. Okay. I was going to you know.

Link: And my Mom said she's bring a salad too.

Me: Oh, okay. I guess I'll make br...

Link: And she said while she's at the store she'll just get the garlic bread too.

Me: So, what am I providing for your birthday dinner?

Link: We'll be providing a clean house.

Seriously? Am I the worst wife or what? Notice he said "we'll" be providing the clean house. The funny thing is I'm glad that I don't have to cook or anything but still, I could have at least called his brother and sister-in-law or thrown a few loaves of garlic bread in the oven. Sometimes I feel like a 1950's husband. I just show up after work in the evening, kiss the kids and the hubby hello, and sit down to eat the wonderful dinner that my loving husband has prepared. Maybe for his birthday I'll buy him a nice set of pearls to wear while he's vacuuming.

Oh wait, vacuuming is one of the few household things I do! I guess I do have a purpose.

Deep Breaths

Earlier today my sister-in-law (the other Diane Snow) called and invited Lincoln and me to join her and her husband to listen to a band down at the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is a bar here in town that is about 2 miles from our house.

Here's the thing. We didn't have a babysitter. So Diane (94)* volunteered her daughter Kayla to watch the kids.

Kayla is 11.

Yes, I started babysitting at 9. But Kayla is 11. And they're my kids. It's a whole different ball of wax, if you know what I mean.

I wanted to be okay with it. Kayla and her brother Kyle (age 17) are the most polite and most well-mannered kids that I've ever met but Kayla is still 11. E-L-E-V-E-N. It seemed old when I was 11 but now it seems like a baby.

And Jake agreed with me.

Jake LOVES Kayla. He calls her Kiki and she's one if his absolute favorite people in the entire world and yet when we told them she'd be babysitting he freaked out. He started crying and curled up in my lap and said "but won't there be an adult here!?!"

He freaked out so much I asked Lincoln if maybe there was something we didn't know that Jake was having some sort of sixth sense about. We decided to brave it and wrote down the number of the Rose Garden along with the number for Daddy's cell phone and 911.

Yes, I felt the need to clarify the number for 911.

At dinner we went over the rules with the kids and what was acceptable and what wasn't. I told them they should stop and think, "Would Mommy or Daddy say no to this?" before they did anything. It was all worked out and yet as we drove down the driveway I panicked that I didn't know if Kayla knew the Heimlich or not.

I'm usually a fairly laid back parent. When Hannah was less than 6 weeks old I used to leave her with a 12-year old while I went to the grocery store but I was a wee bit freaked out tonight. Kayla is really good with the kids but sometimes they get a little crazy. And Kayla was playing with Jake the night he split his head open jumping down the stairs a few years ago. It certainly wasn't her fault - and I was home at the time - but my nightmare is that he does it again while we're gone and no one is here to drive him the hospital.

Justin and Diane came down to drop Kayla off at 8:15 and I ended up quoting Spiderman. Lincoln would have been so proud of me. I said "With great power comes great responsibility." On top of that I said "Being in charge doesn't mean being bossy. It means being responsible."

Me, the most laid back parent in the universe was having a minor panic attack.

Even Diane (94) was making fun of me.

Me: We even went over fire plans with them. If there is a fire they're all supposed to meet at the apple tree.

Diane (94): Good God. Did you tell them what to do if someone breaks into the house too?

Me: Yes. They're supposed to hide in Hannah's walk-in closet.

Lincoln: And take the phone with them!

Originally I had given a timeline to Lincoln of one and a half hours....that was as long as we were to be gone. We had left the phone number for the Rose Garden (cell phones don't really work in downtown Upton) and had also taught Hannah how to text Daddy from Mommy's phone which we had left at home (texts come through but not phone calls) but I was still a wee bit nervous. Lincoln told me to do a shot when we got to the bar to loosen up but I didn't. I did, however, last an extra hour and we were home after 2 1/2 hours.

We came home and walked in the door to find Jake fast asleep - in his room no less! - and Hannah declaring Kayla to be "the best babysitter ever!"

It's amazing to me to think back to my childhood and how I started babysitting so young but now I'm a wreck when someone who is only 11 babysits my kids. Perspective on these things seriously change as you become older. It truly is amazing to view your own childhood through the lens of a parent. I always marvel at what freedom my parents gave me and how important it is to let my own kids have the same freedom.....it's just that much harder when they're your own.

*Diane (94) is my sister-in-law of the same name that lives on the same street. Her house number is 94 while ours is 106 so therefore she is referred to as Diane (94).

Aspirin? Check. Water? Check.

This afternoon/evening is my niece's 11th birthday party. Hangover anticipated.

Maine

Our trip to Maine this past weekend was fantastic. We had gorgeous weather and it was very relaxing. The kids and I got up there about 4:15 on Friday afternoon. Lincoln, who had to drive up Justin's truck, got there about 6:30. We just hung out in the afternoon. Kayla took the kids down to the playground while Diane and I enjoyed our Leinie's and cheese curds. For those of you who don't know, my sister-in-law's name is Diane too...just to confuse everyone.

Diane's sister Donna has a trailer right next to Diane and Justin so it's great we get to hang out with her as well. Friday night we BBQ'd on the grill out back and started a campfire. We didn't stay up too late that night. Jake slept in the tent out back with Lincoln. Hannah and I slept in the built-out room off the trailer.

Saturday we hung out in the morning and then headed down to the beach. I couldn't believe it but I managed to forget my camera back at the campsite. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and the waves.

After that we headed back to the campground to take showers. I went in with Hannah and then took Jake in the shower with me. He normally takes baths, and not showers, so when I put the shampoo on his head and some dropped down he screamed "you got some on my wee wee!". Some lady who had the fortune to be using the bathroom at the time started cracking up as did I.

After that Jake went down for a nap while we waited for everyone else to come back from the beach and shower. For dinner we went to Ruby's in town. It was a great dinner and we ate outside which was nice but my feet ended up getting chewed up by the bugs. I have 7 bites on just the top of the my left foot. After that we headed back to the campground and played Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture. No matter how many magazines I read (People, Entertainment Weekly, Star, US Weekly, etc.) Lincoln always manages to pull out a win somehow. Damn him.

Sunday we got up and started to pack up the car. I always like to pack up in the morning so that we can enjoy the rest of our day without that hanging over our heads. After that Lincoln and I took Hannah, Jake, and his niece Kayla to Fox's at the Nubble Lighthouse for lunch. The restaurant is nice but the kids' favorite part is climbing on the rocks afterwards. I'll post a few pictures below.

We headed home a little after 6 p.m. Surprisingly there wasn't much traffic and we stopped in Westford for dinner which broke up the trip nicely. We still got home about 8:45 p.m. The kids went right to bed and then Lincoln and I both crashed. Another successful trip. We don't have another one until August when we head to Seattle (and our trip within a trip to Couer d'Alene, ID). Then in September I'm going on a mystery weekend away for Tracy's 40th birthday. I can't talk about the trip on the blog until after it happens because while she knows we're going away Tracy doesn't know where we're going yet. Denise and I have planned the whole trip and have only told her which days to take off from work. But trust me, it's a good win.

That's all for our weekend in Maine. See below for pictures of their rock climbing adventure.