Posted on January 6, 2009
I am sitting on the floor (a heated floor to be exact) at Becky and Robert’s house in Bad Wimpfen, Germany, remembering the ease and beauty of the all powerful internets. Without you, I have not been able to tell my story. And oh, what a glorious story I have to tell! Travel’s to a far off land, where we met new and strange peoples who speak not our language, and do not understand the dietary needs of a two year old. (Okay okay, so what she perceives as her dietary needs, which I am pretty sure does NOT mean eating popcorn every day for lunch and dinner!)
We start our glorious adventure on Christmas Day, in the Newark airport. From there we travel to Penna in Teverina, Italy…Where a beautiful villa in a tiny town awaits. In this fabulous villa (aka: big fancy house in the country) we finally rest our heads (for 8 hours during the middle of the day, damn you JET LAG.) The night is spent trying to convince the two year old that 2am is NOT a good time to play. It takes until 7am for her to believe me. Then the Clan of the Erickson’s slept until 11, while the rest of our illustrious party explored the surrounding villages.
Becky, the remaining traveler from the far off land of Germany, stayed behind to help us forage for food the the strange and confusing market. (IE: We went grocery shopping for something ANYTHING Chloe might eat.) After returning the spoils to the villa, we also explored the nearby town of Orte. Pictures shall be posted when time allows.
Then there was the attempt at sleep.
The following day, we went into Rome, Italy. And it was COLD and RAINY and yet, still AWESOME. Because I said it before and I will say it again, ‘WE’RE IN FREAKIN’ ROME PEOPLE!”
And there will be pictures. Oh, will there be pictures!
After several more days of enjoying the villa, and taking advantage of the 45 minutes train ride into Rome, we lost some of our travelers to the responsibility of the daily grind. They will be missed, but the show must go on.
Then there was an uneventful road trip to Florence, Italy. Where much art was appreciated, much gelato, pizza, wine, and pasta was consumed. And towers, and Duomos were conquered. (yeah, John can tell you all kinds of stories of carrying a two year old up 456 stairs!)
After one and a half days, and two nights, of serious touring, the youngest member of our party started to protest. (aka: She threw a fit in the Uffizi museum after we waited in line for two hours to get in. Mommy and Daddy were none to pleased.) We decided that life was easier at a homestead, where everything, induding the child, was easier to control.
So, we made a tiny detour over to Pisa, to see an infamous tower that refuses to fall over. Then drove to a seedy and scary town called Genoa, Italy. Sleep recovered our energies, and we traveled on through the mountainous and snowy terrain of Switzerland (Becky kept telling us there were mountains. All we could see were miles and miles of snow) to Bad Wimpfen, Germany.
And this is where we pause our tale, for now. I promise, there will be more. It will include many stories of whoa and triumph, checklists of how to do international travel with a toddler, and many many pictures. And probably some photo slide shows.
We have four days left to tour Germany, and then one day of travel.
Let us all hope that we don’t freeze our little toochies off.
Cause, let’s face: IT’S FREAKIN’ COLD HERE PEOPLE!
Posted on December 18, 2008
And for once, I don’t mean me. Muh wa ha ha ha.
Prelude: About a year ago, my brother decided to come out an visit me. Not a huge deal, he had visited before. I talked to him on the phone, and he said, “Yeah, so I’ll see you Thursday.” I thought he meant THAT Thursday. Turns out he meant a WEEK from Thursday.
So, THAT Thursday, I show up to the airport with my eighteen month old.
Issue # 1: I realize that I locked my keys in the car. So, as I am going into the airport to pick up my brother, I call John and ask him to bring me my spare set of keys.
Issue #2: Lance doesn’t arrive at his regularly scheduled flight. I call him, no answer. I talk to the flight desk, they insist that not only did the flight arrive on time, but that all the luggage had been accounted for and that no one was missing. I call my brother, asking him why he wasn’t on the flight. Finally, an hour later, he gets back to me, “Uh, Tiff, I’m coming in NEXT week.”
Well shit.
John shows up with the spare key, and I have to admit that I have to come back the next week to pick my brother up because I have the wrong week.
Issue #3: When this happened, I still wasn’t all that familiar with the airport area, and didn’t really know how to get home. John said, “follow me.” So, I tried. But he drove too fast and I couldn’t keep up. I soon realized I was heading towards New York, and I was hopelessly lost. WITH Chloe in the back seat. Plus, she hadn’t had dinner or a diaper change, and it was getting late.
So, I called John, and told him, “I’m lost. I am at a gas station somewhere. Please, don’t ask me where.”
After much trial and error, it quickly became clear the he was never going to find me. So he gave me some vague directions on how to get home from the airport and I was finally able to follow them.
6 hours later, I was home, without my brother, who was coming in the following week.
SO : HOW IS THIS NOT ABOUT ME?
Tonight, John called me as we were heading home from seeing Santa. It was about 8:15 mountain time. We were talking, and I mentioned that I had told Ellen I might see her on Friday play group, but now that I really thought about it, it didn’t make sense because I will have only gotten in at 5 AM and play group started at 9:30.
John: Why is that an issue, you will have had an whole day to recuperate.
Me: What do you mean, we get in at 5 am, play group is at 9:30.
John: Yes, you get in at 5:00am on Thursday, play group is on Friday.
Me: Uh, no. I leave at midnight on THURSDAY, and get in at 5 on FRIDAY
John: I think your wrong.
Me: Wednesday would mean I leave tonight, in like a half an hour.
John: Yes, I am planning on getting you from the airport TOMORROW at 5 am.
Me: NO FUCKING WAY!
John: Uh, yes.
Me: OH SHIT, I THOUGHT I WAS LEAVING TOMORROW.
John: Okay, I will look it up, but I am pretty sure I am getting you tomorrow morning.
While John is looking it up, my thoughts were: “WHOLLY FUCKING SHIT, I STILL HAVEN’T PACKED, OR DONE LAUNDRY! I HAVE NO ONE TO TAKE ME TO THE AIRPORT. SARA AND MATT WILL HAVE TO TAKE ME, I WILL HAVE TO HAVE MY MOM SHIP ALL MY CLOTHES BECAUSE I HAVE NO TIME TO PACK.” Of course I assumed I was in error. I don’t have the best track record when it comes to dates.
John: Oops. I guess I had it wrong. You were right. Well shit, I have an extra day, I am going to go play Guitar Hero.
Me: YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK. NEVER NEVER NEVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!!!!
John: Go out. Relax. Go have a beer.
Me: i plan to. go suck it.
(okay, so I didn’t say that last part. But I really really wanted to.)
For closure, after I screwed up so badly with my brother’s trip, John bought me a GPS. Of all the presents I have ever received in my ENTIRE LIFE, that was the best one. If your loved ones don’t already own one, and you are looking for an idea, GET IT. It has literally changed my life.
Oh, and I had a great time tonight with Matt and Sara. You guys rock. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
Posted on November 9, 2008
Phew. I made it another year. Of what? You ask. Life.
And here is where I am at.
Birthday’s were WAY more exciting when I actually wanted tangible recognition of age. This is no longer the case. Now that I have officially reached so called “adulthood” (as if) it is WAY more exciting for me to enjoy the new experiences of my daughter.
Therefore:
We spent my birthday at Playhouse Disney.
John was able to get FREE tickets through work, otherwise we wouldn’t have gone. But free is free, and Chloe LOVES the Little Einsteins with a fiery passion.
Much to our surprise, there are many OTHER characters in the Playhouse Disney line up. We don’t watch live TV. The only TV show Chloe watches is the Little Einsteins because we record it. She has a couple of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofey, and Tigger stuffed toys. But, other than being at a friend’s house when it was on, has NEVER seen the shows. I think it is possible we saw a Winnie the Pooh show at Mama and Papa’s house, and I am positive she has NO IDEA who Hanny Manny is. So, she was overjoyed to see the Little Einsteins characters, but was a little confused by the rest. When Pooh came on, she said, “Wook, Mommy, a bear!”
All in all, she loved it because it had dancing, pretty lights, and lots and lots of music. But, I am trying to decide how I feel about that fact she didn’t recognize the other characters. Part of me feels a sense of pride because she has latched on to a show that I feel has actual merit. The other part of me, again, worries that she is missing out on a very important level of pop culture.
Seth loves Diego. I think it is safe to say that Chloe has never seen a Diego show. Jacob is infatuated with Mickey Mouse and Goofey. Again, I don’t think that Chloe has ever seen a Mickey Mouse show from start to finish. Julia wants to BE Minnie Mouse, and WAS for Halloween. Chloe decided to be a pirate.
It amazes me, still, how different our children’s lives can be depending on what we choose to show them on television.
I am not going to say Chloe doesn’t watch TV. Because, that would be a bold faced LIE! But, she watches movies. We have an extensive selection of Disney, Dreamworks, and Pixar movies. She has probably seen movies that most children her age have never seen! (Cough: Incredibles, one of John and my ALL TIME FAVORITES)
Therefore, she can’t sing the title song to Mickey’s Clubhouse, but she can sing along with Ariel.
And, she was beside herself to see the Einstein’s Live! All the other kids where like: “Look, its MICKEY MOUSE!” Chloe was like, “Wook, Leo! Mommy, Wook ANNIE, Mommy wook QUINCY! Mommy, wook JUNE!” Then Rocket appeared on stage and I flashed back to when I saw Micheal Jackson for the first time. Yeah, it was that dramatic.
So, no. I didn’t celebrate me on my birthday. What I did was WAY better.
Posted on November 3, 2008
My parents’ whirlwind trip began at midnight on Tuesday night. That’s when they flew into Newark.
On Wednesday, we went to the Please Touch museum in Philadelphia. It was AWESOME and I highly recommend it to anyone in the tri-city area who has a 2-7 year old. Okay, so I know that’s pretty specific, but I do think it would cap out at about 7. Chloe LOVED it, we spent four hours there, and anyone with a two year old can tell you that spending four hours anywhere is a real feat.
Painting her own face using a mirror. More pix here.
Thursday was a VERY busy day, we went to Chloe’s Gymboree music class where, I think, she was showing off for Grandma and Papa, because she was so goofy! She wasn’t misbehaving, per se, but I did have to tell her a couple of times to stop rolling around on the floor. Sometimes she’s so ODD!
After Gymboree was our Gymboree play group’s Halloween Party. At this point, I think she was tired and overstimulated. There were a LOT of tears, and she really didn’t want to share. But, we suffered through it (”You will party and you will LIKE IT! And no, we can’t go home because you don’t want to share!”)
Pirate with a doll house. More pix here.
After her nap on Thursday, we went to the Princeton mall where she played for at least an hour at her favorite store: Pottery Barn Kids. They have these gorgeous doll houses that she absolutely loves. We had my early birthday dinner at a fabulous seafood restaurant located in the mall, then played some more. It was a VERY busy day, and she fell asleep in the car ride home.
Friday was, of course, Halloween. We attended yet another Halloween party, this one was at
Junglerrrific. I don’t do so well with climbing in tunnels, due to the rods in my back, so Grandma and Papa took turns following Chloe through the playground.
Sneaky Pirate. More pix here.
After her nap, we went to the local mall, where she built a pirate bear at Build a Bear, then we wandered and let her explore
Chloe’s new friend.
We came home and attempted to trick-or-treat, I say attempted because she went to two houses. But, what-are-ya-gonna-do?
After two houses, she said, “All done.” more pix.
Finally, on Saturday morning, we went to
Kidz Village and played for three hardcore hours, and then dropped a very tired Grandma and Papa off at the airport. Chloe and I went home and collapsed.
We had a great time with Grandma and Papa, but now we need to REST!
Dancing with Papa
Posted on October 6, 2008
Our friend Heather’s uncle has a rental house in Outer Banks, North Carolina. She was nice enough to invite us to visit this weekend, and after much hemming and hawing (primarily around Chloe being sick) we decided to go ahead with the trip.
I am SO glad we did. Unfortunately, I made myself sick worrying about Chloe (literally, my stomach was upset the entire time we were there) but we still had a pretty good time. Heather’s uncle has a beautiful five bedroom house in Corolla. Chloe loved playing with Heather’s three year old daughter, Abbygail, who also loved to “mother” Chloe.
We spent most of our time doing our favorite vacation activity: touring.
Here is the smilebox for this trip, but there are also more pictures in the gallery.
Posted on October 3, 2008
Well, after a call the doctor, we decided to go ahead with our weekend plans and left this morning for our eight hour drive to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. (We brought Chloe’s nebulizer and some of her medicine with us just in case.)
Chloe did SO well on the trip, except for the fact that she either talked or did this REALLY ANNOYING fake laugh the entire drive (okay, not the entire drive, she took a two hour nap.) Which drove me NUTS, and the fact that it drove me nuts, drove John nuts. Her breathing also got more and more labored as we drove, so we had to give her a nebulizer treatment as soon as we got here. And it looks like we’re going to have to call the doctor and have a prescription sent in for more medicine. Sigh.
All in all, this has given me hope for our road trip across Italy. I think Chloe’s going to do just fine. (I, however, may get kicked out of the car. I admit, I got a little whiny.)
I will post pictures when we get home, we didn’t bring our laptop and so I am borrowing Heather’s for this post.
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