You know, one of my mantra's as a parent is that you don't have to be really smart, just a little smarter than your kids. It's getting to where it's touch and go, here at our house. Today, Katie told me that the words in the book she was "reading" to Micah were spelled wrong. (Under the pink hat was the word `pink' - she thought they spelled `hat' wrong.) Makes sense I guess. (This was the time to interject the "Your happiness in life is all about expectations..." speech, but I refrained.) I did get a little more worried when Micah brought me a wet diaper. I assumed he had busted into a trash can somewhere in the house til I noticed that he was looking a little skinny inside his overalls. Sure enough, somehow he managed to get his diaper off while remaining fully dressed in shorts overalls. I'm a little worried about the ramifications of this new trick.
I think I might need to go back to school.
I do feel a little better, though, that Katie mistook some of Micah's slobber, that had dripped onto the floor, for bug pee. Oh, and the other day, she watched a news clip about 2 dead bodies that were found on the road in downtown Columbia, naked. She reported to all, "The police found a male and a thee-male and they were unclothed in the road." We cracked up a little at that! The reporter said it was an accident and that no foul-play was involved. Sorry, but Katie and I agreed that if you are found naked in the road, it is no accident! (We skipped lightly over the dead part with her.)
I guess that's all I have for today!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Reflections on the beach...
Katie and cousin Zachary, bearing live crabs! At least, they were alive at some point before this trip down the dunes!
Beware, floating things! She has a net!
Micah, fearlessly taking on the waves! If we'd let go, he'd be in Africa by now.
While not yet an expert, I am beginning to consider myself at least fairly educated about South Carolina Beaches. I have now visited 5 of them (if you count Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle, Surfside and Springmaid as one, which I will for this thought). I have been to 4 different ones this year alone. So, just in case you plan to visit Souh Carolina any time soon, here are my thoughts...
My number one pick is Seabrook Island. It is all privately owned and the entire island is gated, so you have to rent a house there to enjoy the island, but it is worth the time and money. Included in your rental is access to all of the resort amenities, like the pools, golfing, etc. While the sand is whiter and fluffier in more touristy areas, like Myrtle Beach, the island beaches are quiet and natural. At Seabrook, there is a lot of attention paid to preservation and protecting the natural wildlife, especially the sea turtles. There aren't any hotels on the island - only privately owned homes and condos - and no buildings actually on the beaches. Another cool thing about the island is that there are beaches on both the Atlantic side, which have waves, and on the backwater side, which makes for calm water and excellent playground for dolphins, which we saw continually on that beach. The island pace is slow - lots of folks on bikes and golf carts - and there is no commercialization at all - just palms and live oaks trees as far as you can see! When you need anything, it is a short jaunt off the island to a cool little shopping area between Seabrook and Kiawah Islands. Charleston is about 30 minutes down the road. Perfect for a quiet week in the sun! (The first 2 pics are of the Seabrook Island beach on the Atlantic side)
Edisto Island is similar in ecology and pace. You can camp at the state park there, which my parents try to do any time they head down here. Where Seabrook Island is well laid out and the homes are all well kept and "nice", there is more variety in Edisto, so you have to be a little more picky if you rent a house, and it isn't a resort town, so you don't have the club amenities. But it is natural and quiet and there are a lot of shells on the beaches. It is also further from Charleston and "activities".
Isle of Palms is nice if you have the money to rent a big house right on the beach! We have our women's retreat there every year and rent a house that sleeps about 30 people! There are a lot of those type of properties there. I would recommend that for the off season. It is closer to Charleston, on the north side, so it is good if you plan to run in and out of town. The beaches are nice but less preserved than you get further down the coast.
Folly Beach is a lot like Isle of Palms to me but the sand is a little more groomed. It is pretty tight to get around on but it has pretty good waves, especially in the area that Hurricane Hugo washed out a few years ago!
And then, of course, there is the Grand Strand - Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle, Surfside, Springmaid, etc. All of these are about 3 hours from us, which is further than Charleston beaches, which is one strike against them! On the positive side, there are more options for accommodations in Myrtle Beach - hotels, condos, houses, etc. - and you can find places that rent for shorter periods than the standard week long rentals in Charleston. There is plenty of shopping and eating places, as well as mini golfing, water parks, etc. Standard tourist fare. The beaches are groomed daily, so there is lots of fluffy white sand, and you can stay right on the beach, so it's a quick in and out of the ocean. And you only have to go about 2 minutes in any direction to buy a $5 t-shirt or a $3 boogie board. (That's a joke.) But the obvious negative is the crowds. If you want to visit this area, all I can say is "off-season". September is the best time to go, in my opinion. The water is still warm, the shops and restaurants are still open and there are about 60% fewer people there than you find in June - August. Also, we like North Myrtle Beach as opposed to the others. It is a little quieter up there and you are only minutes from some pretty spots up in North Carolina. (The third picture is North Myrtle Beach.)
Anyway, those are my thoughts. We'd love to show you around, so if you crave the beach, come see us!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
Saturday, June 02, 2007
A Couple Random Thoughts...
I was living on the edge today. I went to the mall with both kids and only 2 wipes, one of which I had to use to sanitize the table before we could eat. Amazingly, my germophobia beats out the anxiety of wondering if Micah would have a blow-out when I had only one wipe remaining! Talk about risky!
No blowout. All was well.
I saw a really red neck thing. This guy was at the mall with his 2 kids and we were eating in the food court when I saw him. He had his kids in a Sears shopping cart. Some would argue that Sears itself is redneck. My issue was that we were at least half way down the mall from Sears. What in the heck was he doing with his kids in a Sears shopping cart? In the middle of the mall? Rent a stroller already!
That probably shouldn't have bothered me!
Good thing, though. I really love Grandma Miriam. She loves my kids and babysits them even when they are whiny.
Good night!
No blowout. All was well.
I saw a really red neck thing. This guy was at the mall with his 2 kids and we were eating in the food court when I saw him. He had his kids in a Sears shopping cart. Some would argue that Sears itself is redneck. My issue was that we were at least half way down the mall from Sears. What in the heck was he doing with his kids in a Sears shopping cart? In the middle of the mall? Rent a stroller already!
That probably shouldn't have bothered me!
Good thing, though. I really love Grandma Miriam. She loves my kids and babysits them even when they are whiny.
Good night!
The Post-Mike Era
This week, we spent a few days at the beach with my oldest brother and his wife and my nephew. After being there a day or 2, my sister-in-law said that if she had a kid like Micah, she'd have to be medicated! I laughed! I probably do need to be medicated! But it's like I told my friend HJ when she had twins - it's not like you have an option to put up with or not put up with your kids. Besides, you get used to the insanity and it becomes a good friend!
So I was thinking of all the changes to our life since Mike came along, or more specifically since he started moving around. Here is the condensed list.
1. If you happen to fall asleep on the couch during waking hours, you would be well advised to lay with one arm over your face and the other over anything else you want protected, since you will probably awaken to the feeling of the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" book (which is surprisingly hard) being slammed on you and Micah saying "Gin" (which does not mean the adult beverage you will be tempted to partake of in large quantities following this awakening, but rather it means "please, dear friend, could you kindly sing the spider song again, for the 4,758th time today, for my enjoyment".)
2. We currently suffer from air circulation problems in our house, where Katie's room is about 50 degrees and the kitchen is about 90 degrees, due to the fact that all of the doors are shut in the house in an effort to minimize the damage that Mike is able to inflict on our belongings. It is also noticable on some of the doors a dent or 2 at the precise level of Micah's head, which he frequently uses to open things, the way that some people use their hands.
3. There is much enthusiastic love to be shared, especially with dad. But there are also many black eyes and bloody noses on the part of those receiving Micah's love. Yes indeed, sometimes love hurts.
4. Our furniture is arranged in an extremely strange way, to the untrained eye. There is a small cabinet in front of the entertainment center (to keep him from sticking things in the VCR and to keep the TV from being reprogrammed in Spanish, which is surprisingly hard to fix if you DON'T SPEAK SPANISH!) ; there is nothing on most of the shelves - I believe in other cultures, those areas are for books. What a strange idea! Similarly, you might assume from our furniture that we bought it from "L-bracket Wonderland" because there is a metal "L" shaped piece attached to everything which is in turn attached to a wall stud. These were added by the master of baby-proofing to each piece as Micah learned to pull each piece over.
5. We have come to wish that the Wiggles had made more videos, not because we like the Wiggles even slightly, but because listening to a variety of annoying videos is preferable to listening to the same annoying video over and over. (Can any of you veteran parents recognize this request? "uhhMEE uhhhMEEE")
6. We have stopped rolling our eyes when we see kids throwing a fit in stores or running wild in a restauarant and we have stocked up on suckers and other tools of bribery.
7. We have come to understand how you can so powerfully love someone that so powerfully frustrates you as he so pwerfully makes you laugh and then so powerfully gives you a bloody lip with a very well intentioned kiss that you wouldn't trade for anything!
Those are my thoughts for the day. Gotta go - it's time to restart the video!
So I was thinking of all the changes to our life since Mike came along, or more specifically since he started moving around. Here is the condensed list.
1. If you happen to fall asleep on the couch during waking hours, you would be well advised to lay with one arm over your face and the other over anything else you want protected, since you will probably awaken to the feeling of the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" book (which is surprisingly hard) being slammed on you and Micah saying "Gin" (which does not mean the adult beverage you will be tempted to partake of in large quantities following this awakening, but rather it means "please, dear friend, could you kindly sing the spider song again, for the 4,758th time today, for my enjoyment".)
2. We currently suffer from air circulation problems in our house, where Katie's room is about 50 degrees and the kitchen is about 90 degrees, due to the fact that all of the doors are shut in the house in an effort to minimize the damage that Mike is able to inflict on our belongings. It is also noticable on some of the doors a dent or 2 at the precise level of Micah's head, which he frequently uses to open things, the way that some people use their hands.
3. There is much enthusiastic love to be shared, especially with dad. But there are also many black eyes and bloody noses on the part of those receiving Micah's love. Yes indeed, sometimes love hurts.
4. Our furniture is arranged in an extremely strange way, to the untrained eye. There is a small cabinet in front of the entertainment center (to keep him from sticking things in the VCR and to keep the TV from being reprogrammed in Spanish, which is surprisingly hard to fix if you DON'T SPEAK SPANISH!) ; there is nothing on most of the shelves - I believe in other cultures, those areas are for books. What a strange idea! Similarly, you might assume from our furniture that we bought it from "L-bracket Wonderland" because there is a metal "L" shaped piece attached to everything which is in turn attached to a wall stud. These were added by the master of baby-proofing to each piece as Micah learned to pull each piece over.
5. We have come to wish that the Wiggles had made more videos, not because we like the Wiggles even slightly, but because listening to a variety of annoying videos is preferable to listening to the same annoying video over and over. (Can any of you veteran parents recognize this request? "uhhMEE uhhhMEEE")
6. We have stopped rolling our eyes when we see kids throwing a fit in stores or running wild in a restauarant and we have stocked up on suckers and other tools of bribery.
7. We have come to understand how you can so powerfully love someone that so powerfully frustrates you as he so pwerfully makes you laugh and then so powerfully gives you a bloody lip with a very well intentioned kiss that you wouldn't trade for anything!
Those are my thoughts for the day. Gotta go - it's time to restart the video!
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