St. John 2011 Re-Cap

I know this post is really late but for posterity's sake I must document our wonderful vacation to St. John. We survived our day-long journey to paradise to be handsomely rewarded with sick accommodations at Casa de Sonadores. This villa was lovely, from its 6 burner stove to the multiple outdoor showers to the air hockey table in the game room. It was way too nice for us.

I can sum it up with an example of how our kids took to this kind of living. On night #2, Beatrice called me up to her room.
Bea: Mama, can you tun down Julian's TV. It's too loud. And turn down the air conditioning too. (She says this while laying atop her king size bed, watching Dora on her own TV. Her arms may or may not have crossed behind her head. I have a vague recollection of Theo fanning her and feeding her bon-bons.)
I walk next door to Julian's room to find him watching the same Dora episode, AC and volume full blast. He was in his glory. These damn kids with their upper middle class problems.

My childhood family vacations consisted of visits to my grandparents' 2 bedroom cottage in Marshfield. I shared a twin bed with my sister while my grandmother was in the bed next to us. My grandfather was in the room next door that always smelled of vinegar and BenGay(what, your grandparents didn't sleep in separate rooms?) Then my parents had the pullout in the living room with my brother(s) in between them. Now that's what I call a proper family vacation.
This trip had many highlights and many lowlights and in true lazy blogger fashion, I will now succumb to the bulleted list.

Highlights

• The beaches were majestic and we had most shorelines to ourselves.



• Even though we are those a-hole parents that took our daughter out of school in the first month, I made sure to bring her workbooks so that she could get her lessons in with Auntie. I don't think her Ashland preschool teacher drinks beers during lessons but hey this was island livin'.



• I opened the fridge on Day 2 to find we were out of beer. Between 4 adults, we had consumed 96 beers in 36 hours. The beer just tastes better on an island.


• Road sodas are allowed on this glorious island. Road sodas make life easier when you're dealing with 3 kids and high humidity. Knowing a frosty beer is awaiting you after you load all of the chairs and gear and kids into the car really makes it bearable. That and the fact that its' 10am and you're headed to the beach.


• Uncle Joe's Barbecue remains as good as ever. It took us all of 4 hours being on the island before we hit up Uncle Joe's. His BBQ is the best. I wish I had some right now. We also tried some new food carts and more local places this time. All were delicious.


• We hit up the Beach Bar for happy hour many afternoons. One night, while on the beach behind the Beach Bar I was snapping photos of the kids. This Rasta guy was playing with his dog. He kept egging me on to take a photos of him and the dog. I obliged at first and then he began posing the dog and engaging him in action shots, all the while yelling out directions at me about angles and aperture. I'd take the photo, then he would hustle over to review it. He never gave me his email or anything so I guess these photos were just for my benefit. And now your's. And oh ya, while we were at the same place a couple of nights later, another patron started chit chatting with me and warned me to keep the kids away from said dog as he's been known to be a biter. Thanks for the tip. Luckily he kept his jaws off me when we shared our Sports Illustrated/Dog Fancy moment.

• Cory and I got to add a couple more photos to add to our collection of kissing shots. Everytime my sister takes a photo of us she jokingly instructs us to smooch after the last shot. Cory bristles at the thought and I go in for the passionate liplock. My sister and I live for making Cory uncomfortable. Is that wrong?
  

• And last but not least Cory and I were not afflicted with any medical conditions. However Dave did get a touch of the dehydration and placed on on the DL. We have this exercise DVD to blame.
  

Lowlights

• While 2009 was the trip riddled with medical emergencies, this one can be coined the trip of loss. As is customary with bad luck, our losses occured in a set of 3.

1. I decided to get some exercise and swim while at the beach. Let's just say that my swimming technique is unique. There is a lot of flailing. I would liken it to a butterfly but without the fluidity and sheer power. So I made it out as far as I could go without having a panic attack, then headed back to shore. Then I ran my hands through my hair and felt my naked earlobe. Nuts, I lost a diamond earring. Not just any diamond earring. The first diamond my wonderful husband had ever given me. He bought the pair with ice cream money. The scene that ensued was very similar to this one.


2. 6 years ago (!) my siblings gave us an awesome Sony digital camera as a wedding gift. We used the shit out of that camera everywhere we went. It was the perfect size and until its untimely death it never gave us one problem. Day 3 of the trip, Cory dropped it somewhere along our travels. Luckily we had just wiped the memory card clean. Embarrassing Internet exploitation avoided!


3. While on the plane ride home, I reached into my bag for my bronzer and realized I left it in the bathroom at the villa, along with my favorite necklace.

• Speaking of flights, Theo's air travel performance could be summed up as was severely sub-par. He is basically the worst age for airplanes. He doesn't want to sit still for shit. He wants to run, eat things off the ground, hide in small spaces, grunt, pull strangers' hair, and break stuff. He's not yet into TV. So ya, two 3 hour flights are not his thing. He did ok on the way there and the first leg of the way home but all shit hit the fan on the last 15 minutes of our flight into Boston. He had finally fallen asleep but woke up in our descent, bullshit. He wanted off that plane stat and wouldn't take no for an answer. The fasten seat belts sign was on so we couldn't even walk him up and down the aisles. Everyone hated us. We finally landed and then the lights came on. You know how its always awkward on a night flight when the lights come on and you're all standing around waiting to get off the plane. Well we had to do that uncomfortable waiting game with a screaming 15 month old. I did not know he was capable of screams and cries this guttural. It was bad. We finally got off of the plane and then had to go face all of these people again while waiting in baggage claim. Not the best way to end our trip. Theo may have a 5 year ban on American Airlines.

This time we really didn't do to much shopping. There was no way we were gonna top 2009's souvenir.

Off to plan our next adventure.

More photos here. And a trip down memory lane here and here.

Random Musings

We're back from vacation. It was fantastic. A longer vacation re-cap is coming. For now, I am just trying to make it to the weekend so that I can go to bed early and catch up on my sleep. My kids didn't get the memo that you are supposed to sleep later and more frequently on vacation. We also came home to a newly painted house (yay!) so we have to get everything back in order. Pictures of that to come soon too.

Just some random nonsense now.

This article from Mindy Kaling is damn funny. I love her. And I love the New Yorker. I need to add a subscription to my Christmas wish list. It's never too early to start that list.

I read Tina Fey's Bossypants on vacation. You should get it. It was really good. How's that for a descriptive endorsement.

Cory and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary last week. I am one lucky lady. Our trip to St. John was our gift to eachother. I just looked up the traditional gift for 6 years (yes, I'm cheesy like that) and it is sugar. How apropos as St. John was once a Dutch sugar colony. The island is filled with ruins from the sugar mills. But really the best gift he's ever given me are these treasures.



On vacation Beatrice came up with a new thing. Every time you'd wear something she liked, she'd say "Mama, can you save that for me?" or "Auntie, can you save that for me?" Man, I love the stage she's in right now. It warms my heart to think that she finds my style 'cool.' I hope that doesn't change for at least another 5 years.

Theo started day care today. (We're sending him 2 days a week with Beatrice to her in-home daycare.) I left the house to head into work, totally forgetting today was the day we started this new schedule. Cory texted me, asking where the nanny was. Oops... today was the day to get both the kids out the door to day care. I didn't even give my littlest one some extra lovins' and a pep talk before I left the house. I am sucking at this mother of 2 thing.

I started reading the Junie B. Jones series with Beatrice. This is the first line I read aloud:
I'm Junie B. Jones! The B stands for Beatrice, only I do not like Beatrice. I just like B.
Beatrice gasped in horror. I probably should have screened that line before reading it verbatim. Damn, Junie, that's some f-ed up stuff.

2 Tickets to Paradise

Well actually its more like 3 tickets and a lap seat for a rambunctious 15 month old. T minus 2 days until we'll be in paradise. I can't even wrap my head around how wonderful it will be to swim in warm water and not have to plan anything beyond beach or pool in the morning, pool or beach in the afternoon, RedStripe or Corona. You get the drift. I promise more blogaction upon our return.

Un Poco de Loko

One very important thing I forgot to mention about our DC trip was the discovery Cory and Dave made at the local liquor store.



I thought that this crazy shit was outlawed. Evidently stores are allowed to sell their existing stock, just not order more. I can't believe this "blackout in a can" was ever legal.

DC 2011 Re-Cap

I am about a week overdue on my DC recap but better late than never. Beatrice sums up our trip below. Our adventure began at 5am when Isabel, Dave, and Julian picked us up in the rented minivan. My sister stuffed the car to the gills with all of our gear (kids require lots of stuff and Portuguese girls travel with a lot of food-- nothing in coolers, mind you. See Portuguese Food Storage 101.) Our hopes were that the kids would sleep during the early hours until our first stop about 3 hours in but they were too excited. All in all it was a good ride. We had a new double screen DVD player that kept them entertained for a while and my sister, always thinking ahead, provided endless goodies and snacks, doled out at numerous breaking points. Julian was content to watch 8 straight hours of movies while Beatrice could have filled her time eating snacks. Theo was a bit out of sorts on the way down because he had a little cold. Even with the cold, he was a trooper. He was just so excited to be seated between me and my sister and to get oodles attention.

Our apartment in DC was great. I completely slacked off on picture taking but it was very similar to the place we stayed at in Montreal. We quickly unpacked (as is customary for the Chase's) and within hours it looked like we had lived there for years.

We filled out short 3 days taking in the sites of DC, spending time with Dave's family and friends, walking to markets, taking a run (yup, that's right... we jogged around the Capitol like real DC'ers), and just really enjoying family time.

Off to Meet with the President

Wish me luck. I have a couple of talking points I'm looking forward to addressing with Obamba (as Beatrice calls him.)

Mini-cation

We took a little mini vacation this weekend. Friday night Cory and I laying around, bemoaning the fact that we had nothing going on so we decided to jump online and book a hotel room for the next night in Portsmouth, NH. I've always joked that we should work for the NH tourism board because we constantly rave about that little city. We go up there whenever we can. This was our first overnight there with the kids.

It was lots of fun. Beatrice was quite excited to be going to a Show 'n Tell (hotel.) I would correct her and then she'd go, "Right, the showtell." We took the kids out to lunch at the Portsmouth Brewery.

Then we went back to the hotel for swimming at the indoor pool. Beatrice loved putting on her new swimsuit and sandals. She rocked her robe, even insisting on wearing down to breakfast the next morning. She was all about the outfit but not really about getting into the pool. She is so one of those old ladies that suns by the pool with the spritz bottle of cool water.

Theo, on the other hand, was a little fish. He loved the water, chattering teeth and all.

Overall we had a lovely time and it was refreshing to get out of town. When we were pulling out of our parking spot, headed home Beatrice exclaimed "This was the best time eber (ever.)"

Our Destiny

I was reading my favorite St. John blog this morning and came across this story about a couple opening a taqueria on the island. I sent the link to Cory and my sister. Cory has always talked about how the island needs a cheap taco place and how it would be awesome to open one. This news, coupled with last week's story about the new consignment shop, has me thinking. As my sister aptly put it, "Wow looks like the island is just calling you two. If you learned anything from Jack Shepard [from Lost] you should know not to deny your destiny."

If I go back to the site tomorrow and there's a post about job openings for mailmen or florists,* we are so on the next ferry to St. John.

*Cory's dream job and my dream job. Don't ask...

Envy

In my dream life, I would have done this. Green is not a good color on me.

I can't wait to check out the store next fall when we return to Paradise.

Catching Up

As is the case with all of my incoherent posts as of late, this will be another post in bulleted form. I use this blog as a means to capture the little and big moments so I want to be sure to catalog recent events. And as I type this I realize that I don't in fact ever go back and read the archives ... Why the hell am I doing this again?

• We went to Maine with the family a couple of weeks ago. It was really nice. No family drama for a change and no arguments. Unless you count Beatrice and Julian but they are under the age of 10 so that shouldn't count. We ate lobsters and steamers and corn on the cob. That's what summer is all about. We went to the beach and on boat rides. We took walks, sat by the fire, and laughed. I got to spend quality time with both kids without feeling like an impatient, crazed mother. The Maine air and extra hands defintely calmed me.

• Last Friday my sister took me on an overnight surprise date to Portsmouth, NH. I should really work for the Portsmouth Tourism Board. I can't say enough about how much I love this little city. Cory and I go every winter but this was my first summer overnight. It was as lovely as ever. We stayed at The Inn at Strawberry Banke, had drinks overlooking the water, had dinner at the Black Trumpet, and some more drinks at the Portsmouth Brewery. We even squeezed in some dancing. I really do have the best sister on the planet.
• My mom and sister and family gave me this really cool birthday gift. It makes real seltzer water. It's actually a kitchen gadget that you'll use.
• We are having a yard sale at my mom's house on Saturday. It's been planned for a while and I've been collecting all the crap in my house that we don't use. Come by and get something. Hopefully its not a present you've given me in year's past.
  

2010 Montreal Wrap Up: Part Deux

Where did I leave off... Oh ya, it was 70 degrees and sunny. We woke up on Tuesday morning to snow and cold! Luckily we are New Englanders so we were prepared for this climate shift. To make the best of Tuesday's weather, we decided to tackle some indoor activities.

Tuesday

We woke up, had a leisurely breakfast, then took the Metro over to the BioDome, an indoor animal sanctuary with 5 different ecosystems. It was a good way to spend the afternoon. We then made our way back home for naps, cartoons, and hanging out. We had a quiet dinner at home, then Cory went to a bar around the corner to watch the Canadiens win a Playoff Game.

Wednesday
It was still a bit cold when we woke up but not snowing. We ventured over to the local children's library. Beatrice loves her books so we try and go to a library whenever we're on vacation. She immediately spotted her Canadian favorite, Caillou. When we left the library, the weather was warming up so we over to the Atwater Market (another indoor market with meat, cheese, and pate stalls.) Afterwards, we got back on the Metro across town to Schwartz's, a New York style deli famous for its smoked meat sandwiches (think corned beef.) After a couple of sandwiches, delicious pickles, and the best non-mayo cole slaw I've ever had, we hit the streets again for some shopping and meandering (and ice cream.)

Thursday

We woke up to a beautiful morning, sunny but a bit cooler than the start of the week. We drove up the windy roads to the Mount Royal Observatory where we found gorgeous panoramic views of the whole city. Beatrice finally hit her stroller limit, screaming the entire way back down the mount. For lunch, we realized we were running out of time to partake in a Montreal delicacy, poutine (fries smothered in gravy, topped with cheese curds.) We found our way over to Resto La Banquise. You can get all different varieties of poutine but I think the base is always the gravy and curds. I am not a gravy person so it wasn't for me but I can see why people like it. Beatrice was of course in heaven with her 'chench-chies" (she still can't say her 'f's.) After lunch, we walked the town so more, enjoying the last afternoon moments of Montreal. We spent the evening packing and cleaning up the apartment.

Friday
We woke up and had our last bagel breakfast. We packed the car, then headed out of the city. Before we left, Beatrice made a princess card for Daniel (the guy who rented us the apartment.) A couple of hours later, she shrieks from the backseat "Go back. Go back to Ca-na-naa. Need princess card back from Daniel." She is still persevering on getting that card back. She now says it was intended for Julian. She is crazy! We stopped in Burlington, VT for lunch and made it home in about 6 hours. Overall it was not a bad ride home.

Summary

We had a really great time on our last family vacation while we're still a family of 3. The city and people of Montreal were wonderful. Beatrice did a great job adjusting to her new surroundings, going with the flow as we navigated a new city. Renting an apartment in a family-centric neighborhood was a huge asset as it really allowed us to get a feel for the area and to find spots we wouldn't have been able to if we stayed in the busy, touristy section of town. Montreal was also a great place to visit because we could drive there. The stress level was totally reduced because I could pack as much as I wanted (those winter coats would never have made it into a suitcase for air travel.) The city is also super easy to navigate via the Metro so you don't need to drive anywhere. I do miss that from our days of city livin'.

As I've mentioned here before, I am married to the world's best vacation planner. I am so lucky! Between my lack of direction and general cluelessness, I would never be able to execute these trips. Cory basically plans the whole trip and I do the packing. Then we show up and plan the days as we go.

I am already looking forward to our next trip... we shall see when that will take place. We are praying for a content 2nd child that will be open to our traveling ways!

2010 Montreal Wrap Up: Part Un

We are back from Canada (or Ca-Na-Naaa as Beatrice calls it). We had a fantastic time. My re-cap post is a bit late. Work has been crazy as I'm trying to get everything in order for my maternity leave. And my work has now blocked all Blogs! Oh the horror... so posting may be a bit more sporadic from now on.

So on to the re-cap. (Sorry if you guys find these boring or too detailed. I selfishly write vacation recaps so as to capture all the memories my little pea brain tends to forget.)

Friday
We had a leisurely drive north last Friday, stopping in Brattleboro and Burlington, VT. Both towns are really cute. You should check them out on warm day. We crossed over the border without much fanfare. We did have a 25 mile stretch of panic once we got into Canada because all of the gas stations were closed and we were on empty. Luckily we coasted on fumes and made it to an open station just in time. Things were looking up until we heard a man-style burp from the backseat. I turned around just in time to see a deluge of vomit sprew forth. Oh, the vomit, so much of it. We found ourselves on the side of the highway, Beatrice stripped down naked, cars whizzing by...what a scene. Thank god it happened in the last 1/2 hour of the trip and not the first 1/2 hour. We finally got to our house around 9. We were fully unpacked by 10. My friends have poked fun at this habit of mine (it's Cory's habit too). No matter where I'm staying or how long, I have to unpack my suitcase within minutes of setting it down.

Saturday

We woke up early (as is customary with a 2 1/2 year old) and headed out to find breakfast. We didn't have to go far because there was a main shopping/dining area at the end of our street. We had a yummy breakfast of ridiculously buttery pastries and muffins. Then we set out to explore the city. The weather couldn't have been nicer, high 60s and full sun (it would stay this way for the next 3 days.) We hit up an extensive Farmer's Market (like the inside of our Faneuil Hall market but filled with fresh produce, meats, and cheeses) and grabbed some picnic essentials, then headed to the park. Montreal has a ton of lush green space. For dinner, we took the subway over to Montreal's Chinatown. It was interesting to navigate the menu-- one side Chinese, one side French. Did I mention that Montreal is hard core with their French? Most of you probably knew that but for some reason I didn't realize it would be SO French. I have no skills when it comes to that language. I could get by a bit by translating to Spanish (Romance languages are all related) then English. Luckily most people speak both French and English but French is most certainly the default. While in Chinatown we got a Chinese Bun... I couldn't resist (I've mentioned my obsession before.) And I tried a Bubble Tea. Have you ever had one of those? It's odd... kind of a smoothie with gelatinous balls the texture of cysts. Not something I'd go for again.

A little bit about our apartment. It was the perfect home base, nestled in a really kid-friendly neighborhood. There was a playground around the corner, a puppet theater at the end of our street, and it was a block from a subway (Metro) station. The apartment itself was built in the early 1900s so it had great character and charm. Totally the kind of house I'd want as a permanent residence. We couldn't have asked for better accommodations.

Sunday
Montreal is known for its bagels. I don't really know why. We walked over to Fairmount Bagel. Their speciality is sesame bagels. They are so delicious--sweeter than the bagels here and they are baked in a brick oven, not boiled. After breakfast, we traveled to the Vieux (Old) section of town. This was the more touristy part of Montreal, with hotels and historic buildings/churches. While strolling around, Beatrice started her pattern of napping in her stroller around 12 so we took advantage and grabbed some coffees while siting outside. It was lovely. We then ventured over to the Mount Royal Park area. We had lunch at Cafe Santropol , a really funky restaurant with a beautiful back patio. After lunch we walked down the street to the Tam-Tam at Mount Royal Park. On Sundays, when the weather is warm enough, a bunch of hippies gather to have what they call a Tam-Tam. There was a big drum circle, tight rope walking, staged swordplay battles, hippies selling wares, etc. It was quite a scene. They also had a great kid's playground. After the park we walked some more over to some vintage shops. Cory found a really cute vintage Big Bird Lunch Box for Beatrice. We ended the day with dinner at home and early to bed. I think we walked about 10 miles that day.

Monday

More walking and exploring. We shopped along Rue Saint Denis and went to LaFontaine Park. We had crepes for lunch at Une Crepe. We had drinks at Zaz Bar, then takeout dinner from Rotisserie Romado's (famous for its Portuguese rotisserie chickens and french fries.) There is actually a decent size Portuguese population in Montreal (we have some distant cousins there.) There was a line out the door when we showed up at 5. I've had a lot of Portuguese food in my life but never this chicken and fries combo. It must be a Canadian Portuguese thing. The menu there was in French and Portuguese so I was at an advantage. It was funny to hear the people talking in Portuguese with a French accent. The meal was delicious...best fries I've ever had.

I think that's enough for today. I'll post the rest of the week tomorrow. We'll start with Tuesday and SNOW! More photos here.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's cold out. And it gets dark so early. I wish I was here.

It's Always Sunny at the Rose Bowl

If you recall, that is Cory's famous line every year we watch Pasadena's Rose Bowl on TV. Well, not so much this year. We got back last night from 4 days in what's supposed to be glorious southern California. Instead of warm rays, we happened up a monsoon of biblical proportions. It didn't stop raining from the moment we landed until we woke up to drive back to LAX. Damn you, Mother Nature! It really didn't make us feel better when all the Californians kept saying, "This never happens. We've been in a drought. It never rains two days in a row." Not comforting, my friends.

We managed to have a good time despite the weather. Luckily our friend's wedding was held indoors so it didn't dampen the spirits too much. And I don't want to make you jealous but we did spot another celebrity. Gunther from Friends was a guest at the wedding. It has been quite the year of C-List celeb sightings! One of our friends spotted Turtle from Entourage at a party we went to on Friday night. This party was the craziest party I've ever been to. It was a holiday party thrown by a director that lives across the street from our friends. There was a huge dreidel disco ball, a menorah ice luge, a nutcracker funnel, Mrs. Claus scuba swimming in the Plexiglas covered pool, a giant ginger bread house, and about 400 people. It really is La-La land out there.

People and Places

I kind of covered most of the bases in the last vacation recap email but I realize that I need a post dedicated entirely to the characters, coincidences, and other crap we encountered.

On our ferry ride over to St. John from St. Thomas, there was a nice Asian couple parked next to us. We got to talking to them and soon found out they were from China, by way of Ohio. My office is based in Ohio so I threw out the name of the obscure town and wouldn't you know it, they live there. We saw them a couple more times in St. John and I swear Beatrice called the woman, Kai-lan, after the character in her favorite show. We may need to enroll her in some diversity training.

One afternoon we took a ride to the other side of the island. After a failed attempt to drive to a secluded beach down a jagged dirt road (this involved much screaming on my part about flat tires and being irresponsible parents and Cory telling me to calm down and relax. Jess D.- I told him I would not be going muddin' with my baby girl in the back!), we ended up at this 'bar'. Before we sat down, one of the regulars asked where we were from and as always, we got into the age-old, "Oh, I'm from the Boston area too." This guy was quite a character, real rough around the edges. And I'm not judging a book by its cover, he offered up this gem of a story when I inquired about how he ended up moving to St. John from Braintree, MA. Turns out his odyssey started 14 years ago when he 'pissed bad' while on parole. So he boarded a plane that night. He also shared that he has 4 sons aged 4 to 32. He also sang The Cars, My Best Friend's Girl, about 10 times and told us that was the best concert he'd ever gone to. If I wasn't a married lady...

While at that same roadside spot, another woman overhead that we were from Ashland and that sparked a conversation about one of the local shop keepers being from Ashland. Later that week, we stopped by the store, St. John Spice. Ruth, the owner, was there we got to talking. Turns out she has a house around the corner from us and knows my brother's landlord (my brother is now renting an apartment down the street from us.) She also used to work at our favorite local restaurant/pub. All roads lead back to Trashland.

For those of you that have been to St. John or really any island or remote area, you know how insane the driving can be. It's a total free for all and oh ya, they drive on the Left (Left is Right.) We were in town for the construction of and first day of the traffic in their new Rotary. I could have spent all day watching this shit show. Luckily, being MassHoles, we know our way around a rotary (pun intended.)

Beatrice learned a lot of new words on vacation- boat, car, truck, house, towel, fish. Well actually she thinks she's saying fish but it sounds like something else entirely. Take a look at the video. Next time you see her, ask her if she had fish for dinner.

By far, the weirdest thing that occurred during our trip had to do with Beatrice. One of the first days of vacation, we were at a bar and I noticed a couple of people looking over at Beatrice and kinda motioning to another couple to look our way. I didn't really think anything of it. Later on, as we were leaving they commented that she looked just like their friend's daughter that lived in St. John. The next day, Cory was walking with Bea and a lady smiled at them and asked him if he was the uncle. Cory gave her a perplexed look and she took a closer look, then apologized as she had mistaken Beatrice for her friend, Jay's baby. So this happens a couple more times. Another evening, we're coming off the ferry from St. John to St. Thomas (we'd gone over for dinner and the poor man's sunset cruise) and I noticed an older gentleman giving us side-long glances. I smile and he comments that Beatrice looks just like his friend's baby. I ask, "Is your friend's name Jay by any chance?" Of course it is. This guy talks our ear off about how Jay is bi-racial and was married to a blond haired German woman and tells us where Jay works. Later that night, as we walk by the place where said Jay works, I ask the bartender if Jay's working. He wasn't working that night but would be in for the breakfast shift in a couple days. I give the bartender the background so he didn't think I was some kind of stalker. He commented, along with the rest of the patrons, that Beatrice looked just like that little girl. A couple of days later we went back to that bar/restaurant but Jay was not there. Then finally before we left, Cory was walking by with Beatrice and upon noticing that they were broadcasting the football games, they promptly stopped. The bartender from the other night motions to Cory to come in- Jay had been in all day with his daughter and had just left. The bartender goes out the back to try and stop them before they leave. Unfortunately he came back empty-handed, they had just driven off on their way to Hawknest Beach. Coincidentally, we had just come back from a full day at Hawksnest. Too funny... maybe we'll run into them next time. I've heard everyone has a bizarro twin in the world. Mine supposedly was at UMass Amherst. One time, years after all my friends spotted her there, a guy on the commuter rail asked me if I graduated from UMass in 2001. He was totally referencing my bizarro twin.

I love the name of this ferry.
My final tidbit has to do with our major celebrity spotting. On the way home, we traveled all the way from St. Thomas to Boston with this cat. Best part is that he acts totally like his character from KoQ. Beatrice was being all flirty with him and his friend (some guy that was evidently on American Idol- he was pretty generic, white, guitar-playing guy so I didn't even bother looking him up.) Beatrice was also obsessed with that guy's girlfriend, even giving her a couple of stickers. I overhead Gary comparing Beatrice's little coquettish ways to his niece. He showed his friends a video on his iPhone of her being all flirty. OMG, was he comparing my baby girl to his famous brother's baby. This may be my proudest mothering moment.

The rest of the vacation photos are here.

And We're Back...

Back after 10 beautiful days on vacation. We had a great time despite a rocky start. I'll do my recap in a couple of parts seeing as you may fall asleep.

This first part starts before we left for vacation. You can file this under TMI but it sets the scene for our tumultuous start. A day or so before we were about to leave for vacation, I began to experience some, let's call it 'discomfort' in my fanny (not the British fanny, the American fanny.) I will not post a link to this condition as the page has photos, lots of graphic photos. I want to be able to look you in the eye next time I see you so I'll be as descriptive as needed while still maintaining my dignity. So I didn't give the discomfort too much thought as I've been afflicted before. After an infuriating flurry of phone calls to my doctor and CVS, they finally got the right prescription to me. I was in so much pain (I am not really a wuss but this was pain like no other, like worse than giving birth by c-section. For those of you that have never experienced this 'roid rage, count yourself blessed. For those of you that had or might in the future, call me. We'll trade horror stories.)

Things usually calm down after a day or so on the meds, (you don't take the medication orally... 'nuff said.) Not so much this time. And to aggravate the issue, we had to fly first thing Friday morning. Things you are not supposed to do during a 'flare-up' (that word alone is disgusting): sit for long periods, stand for long periods, lift heavy objects. Friday's 12-hour odyssey to St. John broke all the rules. By Friday night we were settled in to our fabulous house and I was on the phone with the doctor in tears, freaking out that I had already ruined our trip. The doctor had some suggestions, beyond the meds, that involved baths and ice and laying down, no alcohol consumption, and oh ya, keeping the nethers dry.

Cory put me on the DL for all of Saturday and part of Sunday. He took Beatrice to the beach and into town while I laid on the couch catching up on my programs. BET has this freakshow: Tiny and Toya. (Tiny was in Xscape and is engaged to T.I. Toya is Lil Wayne's ex-wife and mothered his baby at 15.) There was also a Project Runway and The Rachel Zoe Project marathon. God hooked it up. Whenever I'd start to feel depressed (like on commercial breaks) I'd just look out the sliding doors. Not the worst place to recuperate.

By Monday, I was off the DL and back in action, in the car, ready to go to the beach. Cory turns the key, and nothing. Car battery is dead. If you've not been to St. John, while its totally a fully functioning little island, there are some challenges. Like for instance the crazy hills, houses built into cavernous mountainsides, and steep, steep driveways not conducive for tow trucks. As luck would have it the landscapers came by just at that moment. They didn't have jumper cables, but they did a nifty little thing where they pulled out their battery, pulled out our's, and popped there's in to our car to give us a little juice to get into town. My favorite part was when I asked them if they wanted some water and they replied 'no.' Then I offered beer and got a resounding 'yes' in return. It was 8 in the morning. The smiles on their faces were awesome when we handed them a six-pack of Red Stripe for their troubles (along w/ some cash.)

So Cory got the car into town, and after a couple more issues we finally got a new battery. So we made it to the beach on Tuesday. But first we needed a quick visit to the clinic. Nope, not for Beatrice. For Cory. He had himself a sick case of swimmer's ear. After using everything the pharmacy had to offer for water and wax removal, we hit up the clinic and they got all professional on the ear. Of course this is the year we went to St. John without our resident audiologist. (Bri, we really could have used your audioscope). Beatrice and I waited at the clinic while Cory had his orifices drained. She was good for the first 20 minutes, then started in with an endless litany of 'Daaadddyyy', pointing maniacally at the entrance. An hour later, when Cory finally came through that door, everyone in the reception area cheered in unison "Daaadddyyy."

The best part of the whole clinic experience was that they were in our insurance network. In fact, they were the only doctors in the Virgin Islands that were in our network. It never works out like that.

So onto the fun stuff, we took lots of drives around the island. The green, lush hills and windy roads go on forever. 2/3 of the island is protected National Park.

The views and lookouts are insane. This photo was taken from the Caneel Trail behind our house.

We went to all of our favorite places: The Inn at Tamarind Court, The Beach Bar, Uncle Joe's BBQ, Woody's, and JJ's. The Beach Bar has a beach right off the bar (hence the name) so we spent many Happy Hour afternoons there. We could usually get in about 3 beers while Beatrice played in the sand, watched the boats, and ate her chicken fingers and french fries.

Speaking of beers, this island has the right idea. You drink all day long, especially while going about your daily business. There really isn't anything better than stopping at a convenience store on your way to the beach at 9am and walking out with a couple of ice cold Red Stripes. You don't really see people drinking soda or waters, but always cold beers. So refreshing. You can drink in the car, on the street, everywhere. Here's Cory on the ferry over to St. John.

We went to all of our favorite beaches: Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Hawksnest. More often than not, we were the only people there.

We found the library. Its in this old building from the 1700s. Beatrice was in heaven. We were the bonehead parents that only brought 2 books for their nerd-child. We made do with the "What To Do In the Virgin Islands" cheesy tour books that were stacked up at the house. Her favorite pastime before bed was to thumb through the guidebooks, pointing out Mai and Daddy. Sometimes I was flattered, other times, not so much. Daddy was always a big black man.

We saw a lot of wildlife. Cory went on a couple solo snorkeling missions. He saw a turtle (Johnny B, my heart broke for you.) Seeing a turtle is kind of the holy grail for snorkelers in St. John. That and a shark. We saw a sand shark on our last trip. I don't want to brag but I pointed it out while the snorkel leader was pissing around with some coral.

Beatrice and Cory did a lot of lizard hunting.

When we were by the pool one afternoon, Beatrice kept looking under the chair saying something which we couldn't decipher. Finally I looked under the seat and realized she was saying 'cute.' She had found a baby lizard. He was under that seat every day while we swam in the pool. She would get out of the pool and point and say 'cute' over and over. It was cute overload. I threw up in my mouth.


Every morning we watched a hummingbird suckle sweet nectar. (Dave, my heart broke for you... 'twas majestic.)

We saw a bunch of roadside donkeys and chickens. Cory made fun of me because I freaked out when he coaxed a donkey over to my car window. Those things bite. They're not just mopey Eeyores. They are hungry and mad.

And oh ya, I forgot to mention that while on bed rest, I got bit by a scorpion. MotherF-er was hiding in the couch frame. It hurt like hell. Evidently it was non-lethal.

Are you still with me? That's probably enough for now, More stories and photos tomorrow.

Overall a beautiful vacation, full of lifelong memories. I couldn't be more appreciative of this life that I get to live.

And We're Gone...

I may post while we're on vaca. If not, have a great week.

Maine 2009 Recap

We had a really nice time in Maine. We don't get up there as often as we used to when we were kids. The babies were good (except for Beatrice's biting incident with Julian. Uggh. She doesn't bite when she's mad or frustrated, in fact, its quite the opposite. She takes a nibble when you're snuggling or tickling or if she's hugging and loving up on you. Its not frequent but once is one time too many! Man, no one wants the kid that's the biter...)

So we did all of the typical "Maine" activities. Beaching, boating, jet-skiing (* a la Kenny Powers), sitting by the fire, roasting wienies and marshmallows, walking in the woods, eating lobster, watching sunsets, arguing and fighting (is that only a Perez family tradition?)

It was nice to turn off the cell phone and computer, barely watch TV, breathe in the fresh air, swim in the clean lake, and fall into a deep, comatose sleep at night.

When Beatrice woke up at home on Monday morning, she pointed to her door and said "Boat." She was a broken record with that word all weekend, pointing out each and every boat in the lake.

Now for some photos.

This is Frye's Leap. People scale the side and jump off the top. Stupid people. Namely, Dave and Cory.

















The requisite nature shots.























There's this all natural clay at the bottom of the lake. You look the Incredible Hulk (minus the muscles) but it totally cleans out the pores. And you save yourself about $50 in spa fees.









Note that the knee brace is not mine, nor was I wearing it for medical reasons. My brother left it at the dock where we took off from and he wanted it back at the beach. I think it adds a bad ass element to the photo, like "I jet ski so hard, I injure myself."

















I know I'm biased but it doesn't get much cuter than this.
















* My brother borrowed his friend's jet ski. We were calling him Kenny Powers all week. He also borrowed his friend's car to tow up the jet ski. Guess what kind of car it was. Yup, that's right, a Denali. "Me on the other hand, I get the glory, I get the fame, the money, the jewels, the cash, the Denali, getting drunk on the reg, fucking good times on the reg, yachts on the reg, sex on the reg, basically all the shit that most men fantasize about." (Best line ever at 1:54.) If you don't get this joke, you need to smarten up and gets to watching EastBound and Down.

The entire photo set is here.