Griffin is Oriented to Kindergarten

Be still my heart.  My last sweet boy is ready for kindergarten.  Well, ready may not be the best word.  Griffin was probably ready for kindergarten a few years ago.  He has always been an old soul caught in a little boys' body.

I swore I wouldn't cry.  I told myself I had done this two times and I was prepared for anything and everything, even that damn bus video circa 1982 that gets me every. single. time.

I watched Griffin walk with confidence into the classroom.  As I said hello to a few of the parents I knew, I saw him out of the corner of my eye introducing himself to the classroom aide and shaking her hand.  He them marched over to a group of boys playing in the corner and promptly inserted himself right into the middle of the pack.

Boy is not shy.  Not at all.  I barely saw him through the whole open house.  (Compare this to Aidan who never let go of my leg and made me ride the bus for the ride along and well, it is a bit shocking to me.)

We made it through the open house and bus video without a tear from me.  I was nostalgic and a bit sad, but I was happy to see Griffin confident in his soon-to be classroom.  After the bus safety video, we went outside for the kids to take a ride on a real live bus.  Griffin bounced onto the bus, thrilled at the whole experience.  It was only when he found a seat next to a window, looked out to me with pride and waved hello that I felt the hot rush of tears sliding down my face.

My baby.  My G.  My sweet love of a boy.  He may be confident.  He may be an old soul.  He may be a five year old with the vocabulary of a ten year old.  But he is still my baby.  He always will be.

I cried the whole bus ride.  Griffin never stopped smiling.

Summer!

While our weather suggests summer has been here for weeks, today was really the official first day of summer because today was the first official day of summer activities!  Game on.  It's a cornacopia of outdoor activities, so complex that I only manage to remember where my kids are supposed to be at any moment in the day because I type up a daily schedule for each week and keep it on the fridge.

I also consult it often.  Because, I swear, my short term memory has been shot to hell now that I have children.  Either that or I have so much stuff I am trying to keep track of in my head that some of it is just leaking out of my ears.  (It may be both.)

We started the day with tennis lessons beginning at 8:30 am.  I dropped the boys off, got them settled, and raced off to do Wegmans in a half an hour.  (Even in a half an hour racing through the store in a frenzied state, I still managed to spend over $150 dollars.  Wegmans owns me.  And my three kids.)  I picked up the boys at 9:30.  We hopped back home for a quick change into swim gear and a quick emptying out of the groceries from the car.  I unpacked the groceries.  The boys suited up.  And off we went to the pool for swim team practice at 10 am.

The boys swam their little speedos off for an hour of laps, time drills and strokes.  They were thrilled to be back in the water with their friends and their coaches.  After swim team, they had a short break before jumping back into the pool for swim lessons.  Stroke mechanics for a half an hour!

We headed home for an hour to eat a quick lunch.  ( I also prepped dinner, did a few loads of laundry, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, answered a few work emails and unplugged the downstairs toilet. Yes, it was a very relaxing hour, thankyouverymuch.)

At the end of our hour, we were back to the tennis courts for the boys' tennis team practice.  I am honestly amazed at the progress the boys have made in tennis.  It has been incredible to see.  They ran their little heads off, chasing ball after ball on the courts.

After tennis team, we stayed at the courts for an hour so I could hit a few balls to practice up for my match tomorrow night.  The boys played tennis together on the court next to me.

As we drove home (finally), the boys were so quiet in the car, it was eerie.  A whole lot of yawns and heavy eyes, lidded with sleepiness.  All three admitted they were beyond tired and ready for a nap.

And that is exactly what I like to hear.  One of the many benefits of summer:  three exhausted, completely worn out little boys, ready and eager for bed by the end of the day.

Well, make that three exhausted and completely worn out little boys and their mom.  Because I am pretty pooped too.

Early Morning Wake Up

The last few weeks of the school year brought many days off and way too many half days interspersed here and there.  This meant that my time with Griffin, all alone, just the two of us, has gone from our full day Mommy mondays to an hour here or there.

The G is not pleased.  But it appears he has found a solution.  My smart whip of a third child has figured out that Chris gets up for the morning between 5:30 and 6 am to grab a workout.  Griffin waits for him to leave and he jumps into bed with me for a morning snuggle.

I like the snuggle part.  There is something unbearably sweet about those green eyes gazing into yours whispering I love yous first thing in the morning.  If we could snuggle up together and drift off back to dreamland, it would almost be perfection.  But my G, he's a lover, a snuggler, and well, he's also quite our talker.

It is beyond Griffin's abilities to sit anywhere without engaging in conversation.  The boy can talk.  He loves to talk.  Even at the ripe ol' hour of 6 am.  It is enough to make your head hurt.  And this is before, I have even had one sip of my coffee.

It's a good thing the boy is so cute.

Moving On and Moving Up

As with the end of each school year, there are lots of changes in our house.  After nine or so years of being part of our boys school for toddler and preschool years, Griffin had his last day there last week.  It was hard to fathom.  The school and its wonderful teachers have loved up each of my boys and always made us feel good about leaving our babies in their care.

And now we are done.

I cried, hugging Griffin's teacher goodbye.  In turn, she cried, hugging me back.  I told her how blessed we felt that we had all of them as part of our children's lives.  It is hard to believe that we are moving on because our boys are now all boys and not babies anymore.

I will never forget dropping Aidan off for his first day of school as a "Yellow Duck" in their toddler classroom.  Aidan sobbed as I said goodbye and left the room.  I waited until I left the room to bust into heaving sobs.  I don't know how long I stood outside his classroom door, just crying.  It was probably close to half an hour until I finally left for work.   The head of the school had already called to leave me a message to let me know Aidan was happily playing and adjusting well.

It took me a lot longer to adjust, but those sweet teachers were as patient and kind with me as they were with my children.  They helped me grow from a new mom of one boy to an experienced mom of three.

Griffin is all done with pre-k.  He is a boy ready to conquer kindergarten.  My last baby boy, out into the big school world.   I cried as we walked his school hallway for the last time, overwhelmed by both emotion and memories.  Griffin had a huge smile on his face, yelling his goodbyes with confidence and swagger.

He's so ready.  And once again, I just need a little longer to adjust.

Best Trip Ever, Part 4!

Rome!  For most of our trip, our group had adopted a fairly laid-back approach to our adventure, but this would all have to change for Rome.  Our itinerary gave us one day in Rome.  One day!  The ship docked in a port that is about two hours from Rome.  This was going to be a challenge.

I researched our options to get to Rome and I kept coming back to simply doing it on our own.  Everyone agreed that we would walk to the train station and take the train to Rome.  By train, by metro, by cab, we were going to conquer Rome all by ourselves.

We started at the Coliseum.   Thankfully, we had bought our tickets for the Coliseum and the ruins prior to leaving the US.  This probably saved us hours of waiting in lines that stretched the span of multiple city blocks.  We were allowed to bypass the line and immediately get into the Coliseum and the ruins.  Chris and I separated from the group to take in the impressive Coliseum.  He was too excited to wait for everyone and eager to get in there and see it all for himself.  Even with this being my second trip there, I am in awe of walking up steep stone stairs that have been here for centuries or standing on ledges built so long ago.  It is a spectacular sight.

After the Coliseum, we walked the ruins of Palatine Hill before heading for a walk through the city to Trevi fountain.  We all really enjoyed walking through Rome.  I had been to Rome before, but walking on its cobblestone streets truly gives you a chance to experience so much more in the city.  As we were on a mission, we stopped for a few slices of pizza on the go after throwing pennies into Trevi fountain for our wishes.

I told Chris that the last time I came to Trevi fountain, I wished that I would come back to Rome with him.  It felt so good to see this beautiful city with him by my side.

After the fountain, we walked to the Pantheon and then hopped into cabs to the Vatican.  At the Vatican, the first timers in our caravan decided them wanted to do a guided tour of the inside of the Vatican.  Dylan, Christine and I had already toured the Vatican, so we opted to find a cafe and indulge in probably some of the best gelato of my life.  I had chocolate gelato, with an espresso poured on top, covered in whipped cream and chocolate covered espresso beans.  Oh, simply heaven.

After our gelato feast, we set off to walk to the train station.  A cabbie, a police officer and a shop keeper ALL told us we could walk to the train station from where we were because it was "just a ten minute walk."  After walking for a hour, we determined that "ten minute" walk means something completely different in Italy.  We seriously must have walked, walked and walked for a little of an hour before we finally got a cab and then, still had a ten minute cab ride more back to the train station.  (Note to self:  Italians have no sense of distance. )

We made it safely back to the ship and the rest of our group joined us a few hours later.  We were all exhausted from the day, so Chris and I opted for room service to rest up for adventures in Tuscany tomorrow.

We docked early in Livorno, an Italian city in the Tuscany area of Italy.  Livorno is close to many sights in Italy, but we had determined that we would spend the first day using the train to get to Pisa and then Lucca.    After getting off the ship, we were told (again) that the train station was about a ten to fifteen minute walk.  And (again), we realized that Italians think everything is a ten minute walk.  We literally hiked for a good hour and a half before we finally made it to the train station.  It got us off to a little later start than we would have liked.

We hopped a train to Pisa, got off the train and took cabs to take in the Leaning Tower.  I was more impressed than I imagined I would be.  There is just something pretty incredible about a tower that looks like it should topple at any minute.  After a few hours in Pisa, we hopped back onto the train to set off for Lucca, a city in the Italian countryside completely surrounded by a two and a half mile stone wall built in the medieval times.

I adored Lucca.  In order to get in or out of the city, you have to walk through tunnels through the walls built around the city perimeter.  Once inside the walls, you walk up a bunch of stairs and see a long pedestrian path alongside the wall, surrounded by trees on both sides with a beautiful view of mountains in the distance.  It is a peaceful city, blooming with flowers, colorful balconies and cobble stoned streets.  It was simple, but beautiful.

We enjoyed lunch at an outdoor cafe, overlooking a large, cobble stoned piazza.  After lunch we explored the streets and found the cutest little Italian bakery where not a soul spoke English, but they had the most delicious italian cookies.  Chris and I ate those cookies as fast as we could, and actually went back at the end of the day to buy more to bring back to the ship.  They were a little slice of heaven.  (But isn't all food in Italy?)

After a few hours exploring, our group separated.  Chris, PJ, Danielle and I ended up in a piazza with lots of people and a few outdoor cafes.  We promptly decided it was cocktail hour and ordered the most interesting things we could find on the cocktail menu.  Danielle and I had the most amazing drink ever: mulled strawberries, brown sugar and vodka.  It was our happy place.

We enjoyed leisurely cocktail hour before deciding it was time to head back to the train station.  But honestly, I didn't want to leave Lucca.  It was yet another place in Italy that I could see Chris and I returning to visit someday soon.

That night we enjoyed dinner at the ship's steakhouse and an early bed, knowing we had another long day tomorrow: our second day docked in Livorno and a day in the Tuscan countryside.

Best Trip Ever. Part 3!

Our one and only day at sea!  I was actually excited to have a lazy day enjoying the ship and the sun.   I was also looking forward to attending a cooking class at the Bon Appetit Cooking Center on the ship.  The cooking center was set up for hands on cooking.  We each had our own cooking station, with our own cook tops.  Over two hours, we made homemade pasta, mushroom risotto, eggplant rollatini, sauce and tiramisu.  (The guys kept sneaking into the class from the pool to steal bites.  The food was crazy good.)  The cooking class was definitely a highlight for me and has inspired me to try and make fresh pasta as soon as possible.  (I also snagged a souvenir of the cutest little apron ever.  Makes me feel like a real chef!)

By mutual agreement, the guys had agreed to set up shop to reserve our preferred loungers by the pool so that when our class ended we could soak up the sun for the rest of the day.  The guys alternated between sunning with us, to engaging in contests of skill at the putting course or visiting the gym and spa facilities. (Chris was a huge fan of the sauna.  I think he wanted to take it home with him.)

The weather was perfect.  Sunny and warm.  It was wonderful to have a day just to relax, to read and nap by the pool in the sun.  We all knew that the next few days were going to be fairly busy with sightseeing, so it was a nice break.  It also helped that we kept sneaking down (ahem) some adult beverages to the pool.  Instead of paying for drinks (alcohol costs extra), we kept filling up water bottles with various liquor and adding them to our smoothies (oh yum!), ice teas and lemonades.  (Yes, all class, all the time people.)  Our water bottle system worked great right up until Christine confused her bottle of, well, water, with the bottle or raspberry vodka.  That was a nice surprise for her.

We woke the next day in Sicily, Italy.  While I had done some reading on Sicily, I had no expectations other than to taste both pizza and cannoli.   I think that was true of almost all of our group and because of that, Sicily was a great surprise for us.  We really loved it.  We opted to spend the day in the hillside town of Taormina.  The drive up to Taormina was straight up a cliff on a road that looked like it should be only one way, but instead barely offered enough room for two cars to squeeze by each other without running each other off the road.  And of course, our taxi driver took the cliff side drive at about 80 miles an hour, screeching around turns until we were all convinced we were going to die.  (Okay, okay, maybe I was convinced we were going to die.  Chris might have loved it.)

 From the cliffs of Taormina, you could see both the volcano on the horizon and the beautiful sea below.  The streets were cobble stoned and lined with shops or apartments with balconies overflowing with flowers.  It is a beautiful town.  The guys entertained themselves by hunting down an Italian barber shop and getting old school shaves.  (I felt like we were in a scene from the Godfather watching Chris in the barber chair.)

We enjoyed unbelievable cannolis (oh the goodness) and had the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life.   Crazy good pizza.  Fresh mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, wood-fired, oh so good.  My mouth waters at just the thought of it.

From Sicily, we were off to the Amalfi Coast of Italy!

Amalfi was one of the stops I was most looking forward to seeing on our trip.  I have always wanted to see it and honestly, could not believe it was truly happening.  Chris and I were astounded by the views in the morning as we walked to breakfast.  The towns built into the cliffs just didn't seem real.  We opted to delay breakfast and visit the coffee bar on the ship to enjoy an espresso together while we took on the view from a balcony.  It was a moment for me.

We tendered into Amalfi, but we had decided to head straight for Positano, a hillside resort town down the coast.  There are two ways to get to Amalfi - a drive that takes over an hour on a seaside highway on death defying cliffs or a twenty minute boat ride along the coast.  We opted for the boat ride and selected seats on top of the boat.

The next twenty minutes were frankly, unbelievable.  It was the most picturesque twenty minutes of my life.  We took a ton of pictures of the ride, but even the pictures do not do it justice.

We pulled into Positano and I was in love.  This seaside village stole my heart from my very first glance at it.  It was beautiful.  I loved the color of the cottages and houses built up the mountainside, the cobblestone steps and walkways, the flowers exploding from balconies.  Love.

We walked up steps upon steps, upon steps, through narrow cobblestone passageways to reach the top of the town.  After our climb, we decided we needed a short break and opted to stop at a cliff side cafe for coffee.  Chris and I each ordered an iced coffee while we admired the view from the cliffs.  Our coffee was served to us in a martini glass, garnished with chocolate covered espresso beans.  Oh, icy coffee goodness.  It was heaven in a cup.  After seeing our drinks and hearing our blissful ohs and ahs after our first sip, the rest of our group quickly put in orders for more martini coffees.  It was the best coffee I have ever had in my life.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Positano, shopping, eating and walking.  The guys fell in love with a shop full of men's clothes and quickly took over the place, trying on clothes here, there and everywhere.  (PJ even got a little naked in the middle of the shop, trying on a million and one shirts.)  It turned out the shopkeeper helping the guys was also the designer of the clothes.  (He referred to himself as the Armani of Positano.  Heh.)  Matching shirts in a rainbow of colors were purchased by one and all.  (And a few pairs of matching shoes.)  I never imagined a world where the men outshopped the women, but on this trip, it was definitely the men who get their shop on.  Even Chris who is so NOT a shopper, got into the fun.  (I, however, realized I am so not a shopper.  I get too overwhelmed by the multitude of choices and come away with nothing.  I am not an impulse buyer.  Almost two weeks of vacation and I bought a scarf and some Christmas ornaments.)

The shopping habits of our crew became quite the conversation.  We all knew PJ could shop, and shop he did, but none of us realized he may have met his match in Justine.  Bets were quickly made as to who would outshop the other throughout the trip, PJ or Justine.  Judging by the number of shopping bags making it back to the ship, it may have been a draw.

After a lovely day in Positano and lunch in a restaurant overlooking the beach, we hopped back onto the boat to Amalfi.  The ride was just as beautiful going back as it was coming there.  I admit I cried a few tears of happiness for such an amazing day, but I also quietly vowed that Chris and I would be back to visit Positano someday soon.

We landed in Amalfi with plenty of time before the last tender, so we opted to explore Amalfi for a few hours.  Amalfi was more crowded than Positano, and it was surreal to see cars attempting to drive through narrow cobblestone streets crowded with tourists.

While Chris and I were walking through the streets, an old Italian woman caught my eye and smiled at me.  I smiled back and in broken English she called to me,  "Oh, you are such a beautiful woman!  Such beautiful."

I stammered a thank you to her for her kindness.  She smiled again, waved her hands and said, "Oh, but I bet you hear all about that all the time."

I laughed and told her I didn't.  And then, of course, I cried.  Chris laughed at my tears, grabbed my hands, kissed me and told me the woman was only speaking the truth.  So, I cried some more, at the kindness of strangers and the sweetness of my loving husband.  Vacation is good.

We made it back to the tender with a few minutes to spare.  The sea had gotten a bit rough while we had been sightseeing and the tender boat ride back to the ship was a bit of an adventure.  Waves were so high, they crashed into the boat and got everyone wet.  The tender went up and down with such force, I was convinced we were catching air.  (I also thought both Christine and Danielle were going to be sick.  I think they both turned green!)

That evening we met on deck next to the pool, to enjoy the sunset, wine and appetizers.  It was a beautiful night.  Our group scattered after drinks and we opted to get dinner with part of the group at the ship's steakhouse The Polo Grille.  It was another incredible meal while at sea.