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May 30, 2005
Goodbye Boston
I won't be posting much for a while since this is our last night in our apartment. The movers come tomorrow to start packing. (WooHoo! I don't have to do it!) We will stay in a hotel until Thursday. Then we will head to San Antonio with a stop in Kansas City to hang out with family for a week.
I'm ready to get on with the next stage in our life and I'm really excited for the upcoming adventure of living in a different part of the country. But I'm also so sad. I love this city so much and I'm leaving behind some wonderful friends.
Anyway I want to give props to some of the people, places, etc that have helped to make the past four years so great:
Tiny Tot Tunes
Emack and Bolio's
JP Licks
Massachusetts Audubon
Full Moon
Ron's Gourmet Ice Cream
Hyde Park Branch of the BPL
Arnold Arboretum
Doyle's
Verill Farm
Nantasket Beach
This Old House (I know you can watch this nationally, but how many can say that they lived around the corner form Richard Trethewey's shop?)
New England Aquarium
Boston Children's Museum
Posted by Julee at 08:43 PM | Comments (4)
Lucky Once Again
We took the subway downtown today so the boys could go see the street performers at Faneuil Hall one last time. There was a festival going on and we happended to arrive at the start of Lucky's show. There are dozens of regular performers there and we've seen this guy's act at least 5 or 6 times. I think we may have seen two other performers only once each.
Anyway, you may remember the last time we saw Lucky he chose Henry out of the audience to help him out. Well this time it was Theo's turn. (I think we may somehow be cosmically linked to this Lucky guy.)
Posted by Julee at 07:58 PM | Comments (1)
May 28, 2005
Another Stamp!
While we were in Providence today we stopped at the Roger Williams National Memorial, which happens to be the smallest park in all of the National Parks system. We got there just before the visitor's center closed so I was able to get another stamp in my National Parks Passport.
Posted by Julee at 08:53 PM | Comments (2)
Saying Goodbyes
Saying Goodbye is not fun at all and we've being having to do way too much of it lately. Wah!
Today we went to Providence to hang out with Eric's sister and her family one last time before we take off to Texas. It's too bad that we will be so far away because it's fun to have cousins nearby.
Posted by Julee at 08:47 PM | Comments (3)
May 27, 2005
The Action on Our Street
Posted by Julee at 08:19 PM | Comments (1)
Housing: San Antonio vs Boston
I have spent quite a lot of time in the past month browsing through many of the San Antonio rental listings. I wanted to share with you a fairly typical house for rent. (This is not where we will be living)
The rent on this house is exactly $5 more than what we are currently paying for our approximately 600 square foot apartment. Here in Boston we have to park on the street since there is no driveway. We have one tiny bathroom, 2 bedrooms and no real closet space. Our kitchen is dark and cramped with few cabinets and hardly any counter space. We share the washer and dryer with the other tenants in the building and we also share a small yard with everyone.
I'm certainly not complaining about our living situation in Boston. I've been very happy here. (at least when it wasn't snowing) But I do have to say I'm looking forward to having a little more space and having some luxuries like a garage, a big yard for the kids and a washer and dryer that I don't have to share.
Posted by Julee at 08:18 PM | Comments (2)
More Music: Friday Random Ten
Shuffle Those MP3s
1. One Too Many Midnights - Mark Erelli
2. Dog in the Sand - Frank Black and the Catholics
3. Spring - Richard Shindell
4. Sinister Foxx - The Breeders
5. Hanal Weech - Lila Downs
6. It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go - Nanci Griffith
7. Pretty Baby - Blondie
8. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want - Smiths
9. Falling and Landing - The Delgados
10. Styrofoam Plates - Death Cab for Cutie
Posted by Julee at 08:01 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2005
Music Meme
Colleen passed the baton to me so I just had to play.
Total volume on music files on my computer:
Our desktop has about 16,000 music files. We actually have a separate hard drive just for mp3s. I know, it's kind of outrageous. My husband is a geek.
The last CD I bought was:
on Sunday I bought Luna, Rendezvous
Song playing right now:
None, but I have "Put on a Happy Face” going through my head because I played A Child's Celebration of Showtunes for Theo earlier today.
Five songs I listen to a lot or mean a lot to me:
Everyday by Buddy Holly.
I recently told Henry that I sang this to him a lot when he was a baby so he requests it just about every time we get in the car
Sweepstakes Prize by Mirah
I Need You Back by Ben Kweller
Get Me Away From Here by Belle and Sebastian
Girl Inform Me by the Shins
None of the last four songs holds special meaning to me. I just like them a lot right now.
Corrie, Lisa, Letti ... Do you want to play?
Posted by Julee at 09:47 PM | Comments (3)
Pictures for Today
Posted by Julee at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2005
Ugh! Teenagers (No offense, Katie)
Henry goes to Tae Kwon Do twice a week. Occasionally I get to take him to class by myself. I say "get to" because with Eric's schedule I often had to drag Theo and Iris with me and keep them entertained for an hour, usually by taking them for ice cream before dinner. Hey, it works!
Anyway, during my time this evening I did what I like to do best: I went around the corner to the neighborhood coffee house, ordered a decaf latte and read a magazine. The place was kind of crowded because the commuter rail had just dropped a bunch of people off, but I found a spot on one of the two sofas, which are arranged together in an "L" shape.
I didn't really notice the teenage couple sitting on the other sofa until they started making out. I do have to say that they remained sitting upright the entire time but they were really going at it. I could hear the slurping and smacking noises even though I was wearing headphones. Did I mention the place was kind of crowded and not with other teenagers either.
So much for enjoying my time. And to top it off, I left my new magazine there and didn't realize it until I got home.
Posted by Julee at 10:53 PM | Comments (1)
May 23, 2005
Another Celebrity Couple
It seems that Tommy Lee and Tara Reid have found love.
Here is a picture of the lovely couple.
Posted by Julee at 09:15 AM | Comments (4)
Breastfeeding in Kansas
This is old news, but the Kansas Legislature failed to pass a bill protecting a mother's right to breastfeed in public. Initially they got hung up on the word "discreet." Then the bill ultimately failed because they chose the rights of business owners over mothers.
Randy Scholfield, an editorial writer for the Wichita Eagle, had a new take on the issue...
RANDY SCHOLFIELD: IF MEN COULD BREAST-FEEDDid you see in "Meet the Fokkers" when Robert DeNiro straps on a fake plastic breast, cradles his grandson in his arms, and begins feeding him with his daughter's pumped milk?
It's a funny scene, but also instructive: DeNiro's gruff character is determined to give his grandson the benefits of mother's milk.
He doesn't seem to care what others think.
I think that's a healthy attitude for breast-feeding moms.
The Kansas Legislature -- citing the many proven benefits of breast-feeding -- is trying to pass a law clarifying the right of women to breast-feed in public.
Oh, yes -- as long as they are "discreet" about it.
Amazingly, it seems many Americans have a problem with breast-feeding in public. They think it's rude. Or dirty.
Consider this recent gem in Opinion Line:
"People who breast-feed in public show an amazing lack of class and etiquette. Would you urinate in public? It's basically the same thing."
This person obviously has never had children.
If so, he'd know (obviously, this is a man) that once you have children, you give up any thought of maintaining class, etiquette and decorum.
You get comfortable with loud whoopee cushion noises in restaurants.
Your baby will scream, defecate and projectile vomit wherever he wants to, thanks.
And when he's hungry, he wants to be fed now. Doesn't matter where you are -- could be the presidential inauguration.
Decorum? Good luck.
Here's another classy Opinion Line response:
"If you're going to breast-feed in public, bare 'em both so we can get the whole show."
Whoooo-EEEE! That mama trying to nurse over there in the corner is just trying to turn us on, right, boys?
Grow up. Or take it to Hooters.
Given people's uptight or absurd reactions, it's probably prudent for a mother to drape a blanket so that innocent bystanders won't be shocked -- shocked! --at the sight of a baby nursing.
But, really, why should a mother have to be "discreet" when there are far more serious offenses to our eyes?
On a recent restaurant outing, my family and I were seated in a booth right behind a large gentleman, who was slouched expansively on a counter stool.
He was flaunting a serious case of plumber's crack.
His exposed backside was so near us that we could read the label on his underwear. Hanes.
We were staring into the abyss.
My children began pointing, wide-eyed. My wife knocked down their hands and shushed them.
The diners in the next booth were glancing over, their faces twisted with revulsion.
I'd like to see a law requiring men with this condition to drape themselves discreetly with a shawl or blanket when they go into public.
Or maybe management could ask them to sit in the restroom.
I wondered: Was he showing off? Trying to turn on my wife, and other women in the room?
If so, I am pleased to report, he failed.
We looked the other way.
People who are offended at the sight of nursing mothers should do the same: Look away.
Wouldn't that be simpler?
Don't overworked, frazzled, exhausted mothers deserve a break? "Meet the Fokkers" offered a good suggestion: Maybe men should help out.
Think about it: What if Kansas passed a law requiring fathers to help stressed-out nursing moms by strapping on fake breasts, like De Niro, to help them with those round-the-clock feedings?
It would be educational for men to see how easy it is to try to feed a baby in public. I bet that would change some attitudes about breast-feeding in a hurry.
My guess is, we men would be passing all kinds of laws to make it easier for us to breast-feed. And we wouldn't give a hoot about being discreet. It would be all about our convenience.
And if people stared at our breast-feeding -- and they would -- we'd just give them our best DeNiro stare-down:
"You lookin' at me? Huh? You lookin' at me?"
Posted by Julee at 09:02 AM | Comments (3)
Cambridge
We didn't have any plans yesterday afternoon so we decided to stroll around Cambridge. Well, Eric and I strolled while the boys ran and climbed on everything they could. then they would stop and wrestle on almost every open grassy space.
We ended up walking by Harvard's Fogg Art Museum and decided to go in. For such a small museum it had a pretty nice collection of 20th century paintings. We would have liked to have stayed a while but the kids (mostly Henry) were not having it. Apparently Henry was too tired, hungry, hot, whatever so we had to do "strike force" art viewing, nearly jogging from room to room. I do have to say that taking a super-active and overtired 5 year old to an art museum at 3:00pm was not a great idea. But sometimes you just need to torture your children.
Anyway, the minute we left the museum he immediately forgot all about of his physical complaints and started running, jumping and climbing on everything.
Posted by Julee at 08:39 AM | Comments (0)
Minute Man National Park
I got another stamp in my National Parks Passport on Saturday when we went to Minute Man National Historic Park in Lexington, MA for a small hike. It's famous for the "shot heard around the world."
There are 3 more National Park stamps I would like to get before we leave in about 10 days. Let's see if I can do it.
Posted by Julee at 07:54 AM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2005
Aquarium
With only 2 weeks left we are making an effort to do many of our favorite things one more time. Yesterday we went to the aquarium. Unfortunately the place was overrun with teenagers on class trips. There was so much angst in the place, Eric and I could barely stand it. They were almost as fun to watch as the fish.
Posted by Julee at 10:47 PM | Comments (1)
May 16, 2005
Links
Organic produce meets Star Wars:
Store Wars
A twisted take on popular children's books:
Books 1 and Books 2
You Know you're from Texas When...
Some of these are kind of scary.
Posted by Julee at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2005
Wake up the Earth
Jamaica Plain, my super liberal neighborhood, had its annual Wake Up the Earth Festival today.
Posted by Julee at 09:06 PM | Comments (1)
May 13, 2005
Friday Random Ten
Shuffle those MP3's:
1. Massif Centrale - Frank Black and the Catholics
2. Pennyroyal Tea - Nirvana
3. Learning the Game - Buddy Holly
4. Oh! September - Mirah/Ginger Takahashi
5. Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad - Jonathan Richman
6. Summer Teeth - Wilco
7. Ghost Town Blues - Social Distortion
8. Beautiful Freak - Eels
9. Help Me Through the Day - Freddie King
10. The Christians and the Pagans - Dar Williams
Posted by Julee at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)
Iris
Iris is my wild child and I cannot turn my back on her for a minute. She has been doing the normal wild toddler stuff for awhile. You know- like emptying the tissue boxes and pulling all of the clothes out of the drawers. But lately she has stepped it up a bit. She figured out the "child-proof" latch on the tv cabinet and puts things in the vcr. She has figured out how to turn on the computer, microwave and the dishwasher operating both the latch and the dial. The latest trick she has picked up is to drag a chair to the kitchen counter so she can reach the knife block and pull all of the knives out. She is wearing me out!
Posted by Julee at 10:11 PM | Comments (2)
May 12, 2005
Links
What Color Eyes Would Your Children Have
Threadbared
A new take on vintage sewing patterns
Posted by Julee at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)
Picture
I haven't written all week because I don't have much to say. Since we are down to 3 weeks we have been pretty busy just trying to tie up loose ends. But I do have a picture of Iris that I took earlier today
Posted by Julee at 08:35 PM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2005
Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day to all of you mommies out there. I hope you had a nice day.
No champagne for us; we had brunch at our local pub. Eric even ordered the corned beef hash (why?) and it's still biting back.
We then took the kids to have their portrait done. Boston University's Photographic Resource Center has a special offer every Mother's Day where they bring in professional photographers for a reduced fee. Iris wouldn't really cooperative which is fine. I got a decent one of all 3 kids and a gorgeous photo of just the boys. I'll post them when I get everything back.
My real Mother's Day present is coming later this week. I'm going to go get a much needed massage. Eric has said a few times that the Dyson was really my gift, but I don't think so. He is way more excited about it than I am.
I'll close with a link to Colleen's sentimental tribute to Mothers.
Posted by Julee at 10:10 PM | Comments (1)
Kansas
Princess Sparkle Pony does a pretty good job of explaining why we are not exactly proud to be from Kansas these days.
Posted by Julee at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)
I Have my Husband Back!
The NERBS are over and the good news is that Eric did not outright fail any of the exams. The bad news is that we won't find out if he passed for another five weeks or so. I said "outright fail" because a handful of the 28 dental students who took the exam failed right on the spot. A few failed because their patients didn't bother to show up. How horrible is that! Not only do they have to wait until December to try again but they also have to shell out at least another $1000 to do it.
He takes the written portion on May 17 but he's pretty relaxed about that. He will put in his time studying but it won't be the 2 week disappearing act we just went through.
Posted by Julee at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2005
Pictures for Today
It has been a while since I have put up any pictures of the boys.
Posted by Julee at 10:37 AM | Comments (1)
A Promotion!
Eric took the oath and was officially promoted to Captain in the USAF on Monday. Woo Hoo!
Posted by Julee at 10:19 AM | Comments (2)
Stressful Times
You could say we are dealing with a little bit of stress around here. As I type, Eric is taking the NERBs. I'm standing by at home waiting for the phone to ring. There may be a paperwork glitch with one of his patients for tomorrow's exam. This could be a matter of passing or failing. So if I get the call I will need to be available to drive downtown and track down necessary medical forms.
We are also leaving Boston exactly 4 weeks from today. The kids and I will fly to Kansas City to hang out with family and Eric will meet us there a couple of days later. We will then drive down to San Antonio and stay in a hotel until we find a place to live. I have consistently checked the listings everyday for the past several weeks and I'm confident that we will find a home quickly. But that unknown element does add a little bit to the stress.
We actually don't have much to do to prepare for the move, especially since we don't have to pack ourselves. So we've been just going along and doing the things we normally do but the big day is quickly approaching. Things are amazingly calm around here. I've been working hard to keep it that way. After all I've got a handful of people counting on me to hold it all together!
Posted by Julee at 10:16 AM | Comments (2)
May 01, 2005
On a Lighter Note...
Is anyone else creeped out by this Katie Holmes/ Tom Cruise thing?
Posted by Julee at 10:20 PM | Comments (5)
Marketing to Kids and Other Fun Stuff
I read this quote in the latest edition of Mothering Magazine:
"The US spends $15 billion per year marketing food to kids--more per child than any other nation in the world, and more than it would cost to provide health insurance for all uninsured children."
Original source: Organic Consumers Association
This quote really stood out because last week I attended a talk on the environment. One presenter, a science teacher ended her presentation with a slideshow. She showed us photographs of many local species of birds, plants and some other wildlife. She also mixed in pics of parts of corporate logos. Not the whole logo but definitely enough where every person in the room recognized each one. The sad thing was that only a couple of people in the room knew the names of the birds and trees. (Unfortunately I was not one of them)
She certainly made the point about how pervasive marketing is but that was not her purpose. Her main point was that to raise more environmentally aware children we need to not start with the rainforests and endangered species but to teach them a love of the nature in their own backyards. Give them something tangible and their awareness will broaden as they grow.
I surfed around on the aformentioned Organic Comsumers website and came across this article, which directly relates to first presentation I heard that evening. The speaker who is in the Dept of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health talked to us about the dangers of phthalates and other chemicals in the everyday products in our home, mainly the scented ones. I'm not going to recount the many scary facts she gave us (in part because I can not decipher my jumble of notes) but here is a link to an article from the Boston Globe. (note: mainstream media)
Posted by Julee at 09:33 PM | Comments (0)