These blog updates are starting to become annual posts. : )
Now that Harrison is bigger, traveling to farther destinations has become a lot easier. This summer we took a few trips with our families.
In May, we took a short weekend trip to New Jersey where the band Trashcan Sinatras was putting on a show. Chris had spent almost a year designing everything for this band that he's followed since he was a teenager. It was really great to take the boys on this trip and took a detour check out the Sterling Mining Museum. We also got to enjoy a nice dinner with the band and watch the show at our VIP table. We swam in the hotel pool which had a indoor outdoor "car wash" access, there was a water slide, and an underwater fish tank. The boys had a sitter to put them to bed and they had no problem with us leaving. Overall it was a very successful and fun trip.
In July, Grandad and Joan rented a house in Ogunquit, Maine. We decided we'd spend our 4th of July in this small lobster town. It took us about 6 hours to get there in our Zip Car with all the other holiday travelers. Luckily we have gone on a few of these road trips, and now we are totally prepared with snacks and iPad/headphones. No more carsickness and the kids were very patient and cooperative in the car.
Dad and Joan were excited for some hide and seek, and Joan was prepared with lots of art projects. We went to the beach 3 times and got to experience the beauty of the beaches there. We even had a playdate with Oliver's school friends Violet, Caitlin, and Ashley, who moved away with their family to Maine during their Kindergarten year. We went on a lobster boat tour, watched the fireworks on the beach (which we had to move closer to shore as the tide rose very very quickly), we went on a hike along the coast, and ate lots of lobster. The location of our rental house was just a short walk from a draw bridge, and the town had a trolley that took you to the beach. We will definitely plan for a future trip to Ogunquit.
After a week returning home. Aunt Carol came to spend time with the boys. As always she has a suitcase full of things for the kids. We stayed close to home this time, we went to see a movie together, and waited until Ama arrived a few days later. Then we packed into a zipcar again and headed for Hershey, Pennsylvania. There we stayed at the Hershey Lodge, we went to the park, the garden with the butterfly exhibit, zoo, water park, another trolley ride, Hershey world, went to an underground cavern, and ate lots of chocolate. The resort had a wonderful mini-water park where we spent many of our afternoons there. Just before we left, I had quite a scare not able to find my phone. Luckily it was found just in time for us to hit the road.
We also took a trip to a nearby farm called Stone Barn Center for Agriculture and met our friends Jamine and Jacob and Zak there. The same trip we visited the Philipsburg Manor, and old flour mill from back in the days in Sleepy Hollow. And checked out the Storm King sculpture garden. All in one short weekend trip.
We had a good summer with our families and it was nice to get back to school and back to a routine. Oliver is in 3rd grade and rides his bike to school. He’s got a really cool teacher this year so I’m very excited for him. He still takes drum lessons on the weekend (Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars) and we’re looking at maybe getting him a real drum set to keep in his room. Not that he’s gotten so good at it, but it’s just more satisfying to play on a real drum set. And maybe that will encourage him to play even more. He also went to his first sleep over party at a friend’s “summer house” about 2 hours away. They even went to watch a demolition derby. And he finally got a nerf gun.
Harrison is doing great! He’s been in speech therapy since February and now he is talking in short sentences! He’s such a hard worker. He never gets upset when I correct him. In fact, he will self correct when he knows he’s not saying it right. One of the therapist figured out that he lacked control of his jaw which affected his control of the tongue. So once they started working on that, his articulation improved. It’s so amazing that I can see how with each new sound he learns his vocabulary expands. Now that he’s in school a few days a week for a couple hours, he is starting to talk more from being with his peers. Luckily he is not a shy kid and he is very smart. He has crazy good memory so most of the time it takes one week for him to learn a new sound. I am not really worried about his speech anymore and I am guessing he will not need to be in therapy next year. I’m just glad that all the hours we’ve put into it really helped. And this year, he was able to say "Trick or treat" on Halloween!
I’ve been enjoying having 2.5/3 hours to myself 4 times a week when both kids are in school. It’s not a lot of time since I have to walk home, eat lunch, and that’s probably an hour gone. Better than nothing! So far I’ve kept busy reorganizing our home. This time, following that Japanese lady’s book about Tidying Up, I followed it step by step. I even made every closet personalized with art hanging on the walls inside the closet, put books and little items that I love. I even started a new trash system and starting freezing my food scraps to take to the compost collection at the farmer’s market. I was so thorough this time, I really haven’t had to clean the house since I finished. I just put things back to their “home”. It’s really amazing. I used to feel like I work for my house, and now my home is working for me and making me feel happy!
I was supposed to be working on starting the parenting consultation business a while back. Then when Harrison got diagnosed with speech I put my own stuff on hold. Now that I have more time, I’ve been thinking about what I should do to pave the road for next year when both kids are in school full time. I was all set to work on the parenting stuff, but now I’m getting sidetracked by the idea of being professional organizer. Marie Kondo, the Tidying up author has a certificate program. It’s not available yet, but I am definitely interested in doing that. I guess I’ve always enjoyed organizing and considered that a career option. In the past I just thought I don’t want to end up being a house cleaner or go through other people’s stuff. This method is more like being a coach, and the philosophy behind it to surround yourself with things that bring you joy is way beyond cleaning. I am going to start a blog for the organizing, and maybe another one for the parenting just so it wasn't a total waste. I can keep busy with that and help friends and family tidy up until I get certified.
Oh and I got a bread machine! I was getting concerned about all the products having Soy Lecithin which I read is really bad for you. I first was buying frozen bread made from a bakery. Then the bread machine changed my life. I make it 3-4x a week! And I have become more adventurous with adding more fiber into the recipe.
This year has been hard for Chris. Many of the projects didn't come through for reasons out of his control. I think 2016 just has been a tough year business wise, but it's harder for creatives to feel motivated when jobs don't go through. Hopefully in the new year things will pick up again. He has gotten a lot of recognition for his work for Gilette, and they have returned for more because the clients loves his work so much. This project took him to South Africa for 3 weeks to shoot, and next week he'll be going to Spain for another Gilette spot. So at least there's the perks for being able to travel and see the world a little bit.
We also got the great news that Len and Elaine want to convert our building to a condo. This means we will be able to buy a little piece of Brooklyn history! It's a long process, but it's one that we are all very happy about. We are so lucky to be able to have this opportunity. It pays to be nice people, and our relationship with the Gelsteins has definitely made our lives better in so many ways.
Until next year!
