New England Mamas

Light peeping in Sudbury

I wrote about this a couple years ago here, but it's such a big part of our holiday celebration I wanted to write about it again.  What is this wonderful tradition?  It's the Sudbury Lights.

It was my six year old's first Christmas when I heard about the Sudbury Lights.  I saw multiple posts about it on my mom's group listserve.  What exactly was it though?

New New Englanders

Listen up all you're new New Englanders.  Yes, I'm talking about those of you who have just moved into the area and are trying to settle into New England.  I have important advice for you. 

The first Christmas that my husband and I were here, we decided to get a real Christmas tree.  Oddly no Boy Scouts knocked on our door to announce they were selling them and we didn't see any fliers advertising trees as fundraisers for different high school clubs.  It turns out our local grocery store was selling them in the parking lot.  I thought for sure they would sell out since they appeared to be the only place that had them, but they didn't. 

The next year we planned to get our tree from Petco since the proceeds that year were going to help greyhounds.  We waited too long and I really thought we would be SOL.  On Christmas Eve though, there were still trees to choose. 

Where was everyone getting their trees? 

Trot Trot Gobble Gobble

A couple weeks ago I was talking with friends about the upcoming holiday season.  One  friend mentioned that she was looking for ways to add in some exercise to make up for all the pieces of Thanksgiving pie she was sure she would consume.  "Just a little walking though.   Not like those crazy people who do turkey trots."  My ears perked up.  Turkey trots?  

Mourning the Loss of a Pet

Nice cheery post for around the holidays, right? Sadly we just lost our beloved golden retriever a few days ago.  It was completely unexpected.  He developed a rare and fatal cancer.  He was diagnosed and three hours later he was gone.  We were shocked.  The day before we had taken him for a walk, and he had seemed fine.

While we were relieved that at least it was quick, we are still devastated.  And Thanksgiving is this week. Which brings me to the topic of my post.  I'm writing this on behalf of other pet owners who have lost pets.  I think that it can feel funny to admit how upset you are over pet loss much less how scared you are about the upcoming holidays.  It's just a dog, right?  Except it's not.  It's a loved member of your family.  It's someone that you see every single day.  It's someone who loves you just for being you and is always happy to see you.  You can't pick your relatives, but you can pick your pets. 

As we were planning our Thanksgiving menu today, I realized how truly empty it's going to seem without Merlin.  It's already too quiet here.  There isn't going to be a special bowl fixed with turkey and stuffing this year.  He won't be there to beg while we cook or just plain be underfoot.  When the kids inevitably spill something on the floor  we will have to clean it up instead of letting our furry friend feast on it. 

Then there is Christmas.  What do we do with his stocking?  It's sad to get the catalogs of dog toys and realize that this year we won't be buying any for him.  I found the Orvis Dog Catalog on the counter when I got home from the animal hospital.  It was open to the senior dog bed I had planned on ordering for him.  I don't have any advice to give except to say that I'm going through it too.  We're trying to come up with some special way to honor Merlin this holiday season. 

Beginning of the School Year Fatigue?

Ever since my older son was born I have been looking forward to him going to kindergarten.  Relax!  I'm kidding!  In all honesty, kindergarten did hold a certain appeal to me for a variety of reasons.  First of all, I just loved kindergarten myself and I was looking forward to my son being able to experience it. Second, can we just say the bus?  Yes, I know that a lot of parents don't like the bus.  In fact, reactions to the bus seemed to be almost on the same level as formula feeding. However, in our town, all the kids go to one big kindergarten only school and the buses therefore are kindergarten only buses.  My child would get to have a wonderful time at kindergarten, and I wouldn't need to drive him.  What else could I ask for?

In the middle of the summer, we found out that he got off the waitlist for full day kindergarten.  Seeing as getting a spot in full day kindergarten is like winning the lottery, I quickly accepted it and hoped that our lines hadn't been taped.  Who knows who may have tried to impersonate me and deny the acceptance so their child could get in off the waitlist!  I'm kidding!  But we did quickly accept the spot. 

The morning of the first day of  kindergarten came this week.  All of the sudden instead of being the relaxed Zen mom, alright I'm not ever really that, I was rushing around the house trying to get lunch packed, the backpacked packed, the name tag found etc.  Basically stuff I thought I had prepared for the night before but actually putting it together took forever.  I got him off without a problem but had used the time I normally prepare for our day to prepare for kindergarten so my younger son and I were over a half hour late to meet friends at the park.  Yes, I used to run late all the time when they were babies, but for the past year and a half or so I'm pretty much always on time. 

The afternoon came and all of the sudden it was just my younger son and me.  He didn't have his brother to play with him.  That meant I needed to do it.  Sure, I play with my kids every day, but not the whole afternoon.  Late afternoon came, and we had a bus mishap:  my older son was put on the wrong bus.  It was his birthday too.    Everything ended up being fine, but I put on my best performance ever to not act as a panicked mother and freak out my kids and everyone else's. 

The next day was pretty much a repeat of the day before except fortunately everything went well with the bus and I didn't have an hour worth of forms to fill out like I had the previous evening.  I went to bed at 8:30 pm which is early for me.  Friday was the last day.  This time I sent in a lunch ticket.  Again, pretty much the same as the day before had been. 

Last night my husband commented on how tired I looked.  I commented on how exhausted I felt.   There was no denying that I was just wiped out from the week.  I know that it will get better.  I know that when I no longer have a birthday cake in my fridge my son and I can put together his lunch the night before so at least that will be better.   I think what I was just so surprised by was that I was on major mom mode the whole day.  I did even touch on getting him to Tae Kwon Do this week or the fact the my husband had two soccer coaching meetings this past week in the evening. 

Somehow I had foolishly thought that I had made it past the rough part of  parenting schedules only to realize that things had just shifted.   It's like when you think that when your child is out of diapers that you'll suddenly have all this money when in fact the money is just being spent differently like on swim lessons and/or preschool. 

Words of advice from any of you seasoned moms out there?  I would greatly appreciate it.  For the record, my younger one will be starting preschool two afternoons a week in a couple weeks. 

After School Activities

My older son (OS) turned 5 at the beginning of this month.  However, here the cutoff is September 1 meaning he is in pre-kindergarten this year instead of kindergarten.  Before you start to tell me that it's really such a shame or perhaps I should consider private kindergarten, let me say that we think it's great.  I was thrilled not to have to make the decision as to whether to hold him back.  Honestly I do think it's for the best.  After all, everyone in my family including myself just missed the cutoff too. 

This means though that OS is old enough to do some after school activities that are normally reserved for kindergartners.  One of them is Tae Kwon Do.  The studio that we selected requires kids to be 5.   When we went for the first class, I wasn't sure what to expect much less what to tell OS.   I ended up very pleased.  First of all, unlike some of the other activities OS has done like swim lessons, (and this is being said as a former swim instructor), the kids are moving the entire time.  In swimming, the kids have their turn and then wait at the wall.  In OS's class, they ran around the room darting through cones.  When they reached the instructor they did their kick.  After doing that for a while, they would move onto another activity where the kids would move around even more.  OS was sweaty by the end.  I was also pleased that we don't have to commit to a particular day.  We pay per week and then can just show up at any of the times his level is offered.  I've been told constant activitity and flexible scheduling are common with martial arts.

Both OS and I have been happy with his experience with Tae Kwon Do so far.  Of course that did lead me to a new parenting dilemna:  how do my husband and I manage to make dinner when his level meets right around dinner time?  I guess it's time to pull the crock pot back out so we don't have to do what I did last week:  order a pizza from the studio to pick up on the way home!  I overheard another mom doing it.   

Speaking of time management and organizing activities, I am looking for bloggers to do reviews for a company called Jooners on my personal blog Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting.  I have opportunties for both bloggers and readers to win prizes. 

A Good Beach for Little Kids

Almost exactly five years, my playgroup decided to go on a beach outing.  I was a little nervous because my older son was just about to turn a year and I was picturing an ocean with roaring waves. Sure pre-kids that would have sounded like a blast, but  chasing after a baby near roaring waves just didn't sound like a relaxing day at the beach.   I was reassured that we were going to a kid friendly beach, and sure enough it was.  It was at Hopkinton State Park. 

No, this isn't the beach that you would want to go to if you didn't have little kids.  In fact, if your kids are in elementary school they would probably be bored with it.  However, for little tykes it's great.  There are two beaches, the Main beach and the Upper beach.  We always go straight to the Upper beach because it tends to not be very crowded.  There are bathrooms up there, picnic tables, grills and plenty of parking, not to mention the ice cream truck.  In fact yesterday there was an ice cream truck and a guy with an ice cream cart.  Talk about options!  What could be better? 

Beyond the amenities, I like it because it is a very calm lake.  The water is pretty shallow, so my five year old was able to wade out into the lake.  Also, because the water is shallow it was fairly warm.  During the beach season they have lifeguards too.  Plus it's only $5 per car, if your library doesn't have a state park pass that will cover it.  There were signs for boat rentals, and we saw plenty of people fishing in non-swimming areas.

The one trick is that apparently only the entrance to the park is in Hopkinton.  According to the police officer whom our older son grilled at length about his job, most of the rest of the park is actually in Ashland.

New England Triathlons

I'm finishing up my triathlon season.  After the first year of triathlons, I will no longer be considered a newbie.  In what has been almost a year of training, I've noticed a couple of things.  First, I get a fair amount of hits on my blog each week from people searching for triathlons and second, you really don't have to be a super buff person to do them.  Seriously, people of all shapes and sizes participate.

Just like triathletes come in all shapes and sizes, so do triathlons.  I have found each of my triathlons to be better than the last.  However, if you're looking for a really good New England triathlon for newbies, I would recommend Max Performance, Title 9 Women's  Triathlon in Hopkinton State Park. 

Ever since signing up, I've received several outstanding informational emails and offers from the company.  I was invited to a free open water swim workshop, and an escorted "tour" of the full triathlon course.  They also have a hotline for newbies if I have any questions, and they offer to partner each newbie with a veteran triathlete buddy to answer any questions and provide support and guidance. The best thing that I got was an email with a 15 page brochure explaining exactly what would happen on triathlon day and the order of events.  I emailed it to my husband and parents who will be attending the triathlon so they could see exactly how it worked.  It is probably more useful for my parents, since they have never been to a triathlon before.  My husband considers himself a veteran and likes to brag that he and the boys always  get to the finish line before me.  Of course, they don't swim, bike, or run; they walk right to the finish line and stay in the audience.  The brochure suggests that Max Performance has planned the triathlon as thoroughly as they did the preparation.  They have an "Inspiration Station" where your friends and family can make posters and signs to cheer you on, and they give each triathlete a free cow bell to add sound to the signs of those cheering.  Perhaps more impressively, this is apparently typical of all of their triathlons.  I wish I had known about this for my first few triathlons.

No, I don't work for Max Performance and I'm not getting anything for doing this post.  I know there are some New England Mama contributers who do triathlons, so I thought I would just pass this info along to them.  Did I mention you get a cowbell? 

A New England Transplant

I've always had a hard time answering the question "Where are you from?"  To clarify, I don't have any trouble when talking to other parents in my child's preschool class where the correct answer is my current hometown.  When I am on vacation, I am torn between being honest and admitting to being from "a galaxy far, far away," saying I am from where I grew up, Chicago, or describing where I now live in New England.  At what point do you become "from" the state that's different from where you grew up?  Is it when you've lived in that state for longer than you lived in your original home state? 

When I first moved to MA, I used to dress nicely while running errands because I knew no one and in some weird subconscious way I think I wanted to make a good impression.  You never know who's going to turn around in a grocery store and invite you to a family BBQ.  Alright, that might be a little creepy, and for the record it never happened.  After a while, particularly once I became a mom, I no longer cared if my hair needed to be brushed when I went to the grocery store.  I just went as I was.  Then I began to notice a surprising correlation between the amount of spit-up on my shirt and the likelihood that that I would encounter someone I knew.

Because I was meeting a friend today, I was actually dressed somewhat nicely when I went to drop my son off at camp.  It was the first day of the session.  I didn't think I knew anyone who was sending their kids to this camp.  I was therefore surprised to find that I knew half the parents from a number of different groups and activities.  So again, when I am officially from MA? 

Secret Spaces: Flour Bakery

Earlier this year, my kids and I went with a friend of mine and her kids to the Boston Children's Museum.  As we were walking back to the parking lot after a fun day, my friend excitedly pointed to  something down the street.  I followed her finger to see what was so important.  Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.   In fact, the street was empty.   "No, look!" she emphasized.  "It's that bakery!" 

It turns out she was pointing to Flour Bakery which is located directly across from the parking lot of the Children's Museum.   The owner of Flour bakery, Joanne, competed with Bobby Flay to see who had the best tasting sticky buns.  My friend saw it on Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network.  Here's the really interesting part and the reason it's my secret space:  Joanne is not trained the way you would expect of most bakers.  She is actually a math genius with a degree from Harvard.  My friend told me that Joanne developed a mathematical formula not just for a good sticky bun, but for the best tasting sticky buns...and she won.  How cool is that?   You can learn more about the story from the website.

Unfortunately, Flour was closed by the time we left.  However, we went again a few weeks ago.  On the advice of someone, we went to Flour bakery before we went to the museum because apparently the sticky buns go fast.  We picked out our treats and had them boxed to go.  The kids played in the museum until lunch time.  Then we were able to enjoy a nice outdoor lunch at the museum complete with some fabulous sticky buns.   It was an extra special twist to an already fun day.