It's been a couple weeks since we last posted...and later we'll fill you in on our little vacation to Ephrata and Sight and Sound...and update you on our baby turtle (just hatched - in our kitchen - about 11 days ago).
But I had to write this morning, because something amazing just happened to me. I was outside pulling some tall grass from our flower beds. The cicadas are singing, the sun shining bright, and the geese are heading my way.
Yes, I could hear the honking of the geese - about 12 of them, and I knew they were getting closer.
I didn't look up...I've seen plenty of geese before...I knew they were coming and it seemed like they would be flying right overhead. And they did.
As all this was happening, I was thinking to myself how wonderful it was that geese don't poop in flight - they take care of that when they're on the ground - I'm one happy guy that geese don't poop in flight - I don't need to worry about a thing...
As these thoughts were about done scrolling through my head like a Star Wars title crawl, it hit me!
Literally...it hit me...and at the same time it hit me that I had been wrong all these years.
Geese can and do poop in flight.
You do need to be wary when the geese fly overhead.
You need to protect yourself.
Beware the geese.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Ellie "Sleep-Eating"
We had a family picnic this evening - dinner and a movie in our family room. I picked out a 30 minute film about monkeys (a VHS tape I took out of the huge bag of VHS tapes that dad was getting rid of a few months ago), and Papa John's delivered our pizza just in time. Ellie was in her high chair and Jen, Caleb, and I were each seated behind a TV tray. The film is older, but very entertaining.
When it was about 20 minutes in we looked over to see how Ellie was doing (as she had been unusually quiet for a while), and this is what we saw (enjoy!) : ~AG
When it was about 20 minutes in we looked over to see how Ellie was doing (as she had been unusually quiet for a while), and this is what we saw (enjoy!) : ~AG
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Whew ...
It's been awhile since a post ... well, since a NEW post anyways. We've had a lot going on.
VBS - July 13-17
VBS went great! I am way too tired to write about all the things that I could write about ... but I will say that we had over 300 kids, 100 volunteers, we had a great time, the kids had a great time, everyone had a great time at the Friday Family Night, we are so appreciative of all the wonderful people who helped ... and we're tired! :-) This was Caleb's first year in VBS and I loved watching him throughout the week. He was SO excited when he received a "Kindness Coin" for being kind. And I was so touched at his excitement. What was just a whim of an idea weeks ago turned into something personal. But now the Kindness Coins are gone because he keeps sucking on them.
On Monday, we relaxed and our family went to Sesame Place - our very first experience there! We exchanged vouchers for tickets so did not have to pay the ticket price ... but made up for it in parking fees, locker fees ($15!), and spending 1/2 our weekly grocery bill on lunch. But it was worth it. We spent 9 hours there and we had a marvelous time! We put all our stuff in an expensive locker, and walked out into the water park ... all 4 holding hands, with nothing but our swimsuits and shorts and watershoes. No phone. No wallet. No camera. Just us. And it was a great feeling! Freedom! We loved the Lazy River and water slides and Ellie went on her first water slide alone (it was pretty tame) and in the evening we changed into clothes and went on the "dry" rides ... and Caleb went on his first roller coaster (it was actually fun! I liked it!) and Ellie wanted to but she has to wait until she's 3. It was a really fun day.
On Tuesday night I drove out and spent the night with my parents. Wednesday morning, mom and I drove dad into Phoenixville Hospital for his surgery ... with a 6am check in time. We waited in the waiting room until noonish when the doctor informed us the surgery was done and everything was ok. Then we waited another 3 hours so we could see him in his room ... he was a BIT sluggish. :-) Then I drove back home and had church that evening.
Friday after lunch we all drove out to see Grandpa Marvin in the hospital. The kids didn't push any buttons or pull out any IV's ... YES! No, they were actually very well behaved. Dad looked pretty perky for just having surgery. And he has about 6 coloring pages from Caleb and Ellie hanging in his room. Saturday morning mom and I went to see dad, and looks like he'll be released tomorrow! We had lunch with Dick and Darlene and headed back home ... where ...
... we made dinner for Pastor Shawn and Kristal (youth pastors at CLC). And their dog Riley. They haven't yet sold their house in Lancaster so cannot look for a house here ... and needed a place for their chocolate lab (Shawn's brother had been keeping the dog but it wasn't working out with his kids). So now we are the foster parents of an 80 lb. chocolate lab until ... whenever they can buy a house here. Whew! (Riley just barked at Muffin ... Aaron is calming him downstairs ... let the fun begin!) Riley is really a good dog - he's trained to ring the bell to be let outside, doesn't jump on furniture, doesn't really bark (except for getting aquainted with our cats), is very gentle with the kids (who have already tested him) and is good with other animals ... after he satisfies his curiosity ... which our cats are not letting him do as of yet. I agreed to the arrangment on 1 condition ... Aaron takes care of all poop/pee of the dog and takes him on walks if I don't want to. So we are both satisfied. We'll see how this venture goes! The kids are pretty excited!
Funny moment ... during dinner, we were talking with Shawn and Kristal, and Caleb is really excited at having new people over so he's being very silly. And he looks at me, smiles and giggles and says, "Screw you!" Then he says it again, with an adorably silly look on his face. We all stop, try not to laugh ... and Aaron and I ponder how to address this. I don't know if he heard it from somewhere or if he just made it up, as he frequently does with other words ... but we calmly informed him that wasn't a polite thing to say. "Ok" he replied. And Shawn and Kristal just laughed, muttering "Pastor's kids ...".
Next week I'll be at Kids Camp. It will be fun and totally worth it, but I'm really looking forward to some down time soon!
Anyways, off to bed!
~JG
VBS - July 13-17
VBS went great! I am way too tired to write about all the things that I could write about ... but I will say that we had over 300 kids, 100 volunteers, we had a great time, the kids had a great time, everyone had a great time at the Friday Family Night, we are so appreciative of all the wonderful people who helped ... and we're tired! :-) This was Caleb's first year in VBS and I loved watching him throughout the week. He was SO excited when he received a "Kindness Coin" for being kind. And I was so touched at his excitement. What was just a whim of an idea weeks ago turned into something personal. But now the Kindness Coins are gone because he keeps sucking on them.
On Monday, we relaxed and our family went to Sesame Place - our very first experience there! We exchanged vouchers for tickets so did not have to pay the ticket price ... but made up for it in parking fees, locker fees ($15!), and spending 1/2 our weekly grocery bill on lunch. But it was worth it. We spent 9 hours there and we had a marvelous time! We put all our stuff in an expensive locker, and walked out into the water park ... all 4 holding hands, with nothing but our swimsuits and shorts and watershoes. No phone. No wallet. No camera. Just us. And it was a great feeling! Freedom! We loved the Lazy River and water slides and Ellie went on her first water slide alone (it was pretty tame) and in the evening we changed into clothes and went on the "dry" rides ... and Caleb went on his first roller coaster (it was actually fun! I liked it!) and Ellie wanted to but she has to wait until she's 3. It was a really fun day.
On Tuesday night I drove out and spent the night with my parents. Wednesday morning, mom and I drove dad into Phoenixville Hospital for his surgery ... with a 6am check in time. We waited in the waiting room until noonish when the doctor informed us the surgery was done and everything was ok. Then we waited another 3 hours so we could see him in his room ... he was a BIT sluggish. :-) Then I drove back home and had church that evening.
Friday after lunch we all drove out to see Grandpa Marvin in the hospital. The kids didn't push any buttons or pull out any IV's ... YES! No, they were actually very well behaved. Dad looked pretty perky for just having surgery. And he has about 6 coloring pages from Caleb and Ellie hanging in his room. Saturday morning mom and I went to see dad, and looks like he'll be released tomorrow! We had lunch with Dick and Darlene and headed back home ... where ...
... we made dinner for Pastor Shawn and Kristal (youth pastors at CLC). And their dog Riley. They haven't yet sold their house in Lancaster so cannot look for a house here ... and needed a place for their chocolate lab (Shawn's brother had been keeping the dog but it wasn't working out with his kids). So now we are the foster parents of an 80 lb. chocolate lab until ... whenever they can buy a house here. Whew! (Riley just barked at Muffin ... Aaron is calming him downstairs ... let the fun begin!) Riley is really a good dog - he's trained to ring the bell to be let outside, doesn't jump on furniture, doesn't really bark (except for getting aquainted with our cats), is very gentle with the kids (who have already tested him) and is good with other animals ... after he satisfies his curiosity ... which our cats are not letting him do as of yet. I agreed to the arrangment on 1 condition ... Aaron takes care of all poop/pee of the dog and takes him on walks if I don't want to. So we are both satisfied. We'll see how this venture goes! The kids are pretty excited!
Funny moment ... during dinner, we were talking with Shawn and Kristal, and Caleb is really excited at having new people over so he's being very silly. And he looks at me, smiles and giggles and says, "Screw you!" Then he says it again, with an adorably silly look on his face. We all stop, try not to laugh ... and Aaron and I ponder how to address this. I don't know if he heard it from somewhere or if he just made it up, as he frequently does with other words ... but we calmly informed him that wasn't a polite thing to say. "Ok" he replied. And Shawn and Kristal just laughed, muttering "Pastor's kids ...".
Next week I'll be at Kids Camp. It will be fun and totally worth it, but I'm really looking forward to some down time soon!
Anyways, off to bed!
~JG
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A Glimpse of the Past
This was an email Jen sent to me on January 22 of this year. You may have also received this email...even if you did, it's a great read the second time around. ~AG
====================================
My Afternoon ...
Our family eats a nice, normal lunch.
After Aaron returns to work, Caleb, Ellie and I play a game of Candyland. It is 1:30pm. Ellie drops out of the game early. She starts collecting discarded cards and boing-ing the red figure all around the game board. Caleb whips me soundly. Twice. I didn’t even let him cheat.
We start getting ready for naps (or “quiet time”) … but …
While sitting on the toilet, Caleb accidentally pees everywhere. He didn’t point down in time. This is rather unusual. Pee is in his hair, face, clothes, mouth, on the bathroom floor … we both concur that it is time for a bath.
I get the kids naked for the bath. Caleb gets in. I need to run some more cool water. Ellie pees on the floor. Ellie gets in. I clean up the pee. From both children. Did I mention the toilet is[n't] flushing completely?
The kids are finally clean and covered in bubbles. They whine and bicker while in the bath. Ellie is very tired and Caleb is pushing her buttons.
Ellie dumps a toy full of water out of the tub. So I get her out. She has hit her wall. She cries “bubbo baff!” over and over hysterically, stamping her dripping wet feet.
I take Ellie to her room and dry her off. Her injured nose (from her slip yesterday - but that’s another story) starts to spontaneously bleed again. I find Kleenex and attempt to stop the blood but she cries all the more hysterically. She would much rather bleed all over her carpet.
I get her nosebleed slowed, and settle her into her rocking chair with some books, dressed in a diaper and pants only. I go get Caleb out of the bath. I wrap him in a towel and tell him to play with some trains while I get Ellie settled. He happily complies.
Ellie and I sit in the rocking chair with the Kleenex box. I sing her the “3-2-1 Penguins” theme song. She yells “NO NO NO mommy! No sing song!” and then she giggles. And asks me to sing it again. I will never understand the mind of an almost 2 year old. I sing the song about 28 times until I’m convinced her nose really has stopped bleeding. I put a shirt on her, finally, and settle her in her bed with a bunch of books. I leave to get stuff to clean up the blood on her carpet.
On my way back, I check on Caleb. He is in his room, naked, covered in green, yellow and orange marker … on his hands, belly, legs, arms … I think, “Ahhhh, that was the crash I heard. The marker and crayon bin.” I confiscate the markers. I will be back.
I go and clean the blood off Ellie’s floor. She lays in her bed, watching me with her binkie and blankie. She reminds me to turn off the light on my way out. She is ready to sleep!
I go back to Caleb and explain, again, why we have the rule of “only get colors out with mommy and daddy”. We go into the bathroom and I scrub him, leaving a hint of color tint throughout his little body. We get dressed in clean, non-peed on clothes, he climbs in my lap and whispers “I wuv you mommy”, gives me a kiss and crawls into his bed. It’s amazing how that little kiss makes up for a multitude of pee and marker! I start his music and leave.
I walk to the bathroom. There I see … water on the floor, towels with either pee or nosebleed strewn about, washclothes with either pee or marker tint hanging over the sink, toys with bubbles in the tub and bubbles all over the sink (I don’t remember how those got there …), kids dirty clothes … and I walk away.
It is only 2:50pm.
And I thank God that this was a totally and completely abnormal afternoon.
Hope yours is going better!
Love ya! :-)
Jenny
====================================
My Afternoon ...
Our family eats a nice, normal lunch.
After Aaron returns to work, Caleb, Ellie and I play a game of Candyland. It is 1:30pm. Ellie drops out of the game early. She starts collecting discarded cards and boing-ing the red figure all around the game board. Caleb whips me soundly. Twice. I didn’t even let him cheat.
We start getting ready for naps (or “quiet time”) … but …
While sitting on the toilet, Caleb accidentally pees everywhere. He didn’t point down in time. This is rather unusual. Pee is in his hair, face, clothes, mouth, on the bathroom floor … we both concur that it is time for a bath.
I get the kids naked for the bath. Caleb gets in. I need to run some more cool water. Ellie pees on the floor. Ellie gets in. I clean up the pee. From both children. Did I mention the toilet is[n't] flushing completely?
The kids are finally clean and covered in bubbles. They whine and bicker while in the bath. Ellie is very tired and Caleb is pushing her buttons.
Ellie dumps a toy full of water out of the tub. So I get her out. She has hit her wall. She cries “bubbo baff!” over and over hysterically, stamping her dripping wet feet.
I take Ellie to her room and dry her off. Her injured nose (from her slip yesterday - but that’s another story) starts to spontaneously bleed again. I find Kleenex and attempt to stop the blood but she cries all the more hysterically. She would much rather bleed all over her carpet.
I get her nosebleed slowed, and settle her into her rocking chair with some books, dressed in a diaper and pants only. I go get Caleb out of the bath. I wrap him in a towel and tell him to play with some trains while I get Ellie settled. He happily complies.
Ellie and I sit in the rocking chair with the Kleenex box. I sing her the “3-2-1 Penguins” theme song. She yells “NO NO NO mommy! No sing song!” and then she giggles. And asks me to sing it again. I will never understand the mind of an almost 2 year old. I sing the song about 28 times until I’m convinced her nose really has stopped bleeding. I put a shirt on her, finally, and settle her in her bed with a bunch of books. I leave to get stuff to clean up the blood on her carpet.
On my way back, I check on Caleb. He is in his room, naked, covered in green, yellow and orange marker … on his hands, belly, legs, arms … I think, “Ahhhh, that was the crash I heard. The marker and crayon bin.” I confiscate the markers. I will be back.
I go and clean the blood off Ellie’s floor. She lays in her bed, watching me with her binkie and blankie. She reminds me to turn off the light on my way out. She is ready to sleep!
I go back to Caleb and explain, again, why we have the rule of “only get colors out with mommy and daddy”. We go into the bathroom and I scrub him, leaving a hint of color tint throughout his little body. We get dressed in clean, non-peed on clothes, he climbs in my lap and whispers “I wuv you mommy”, gives me a kiss and crawls into his bed. It’s amazing how that little kiss makes up for a multitude of pee and marker! I start his music and leave.
I walk to the bathroom. There I see … water on the floor, towels with either pee or nosebleed strewn about, washclothes with either pee or marker tint hanging over the sink, toys with bubbles in the tub and bubbles all over the sink (I don’t remember how those got there …), kids dirty clothes … and I walk away.
It is only 2:50pm.
And I thank God that this was a totally and completely abnormal afternoon.
Hope yours is going better!
Love ya! :-)
Jenny
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Our Family Tea Party
Well, we finally had our very first family Tea Party. But we are not the ordinary family, and it was not an ordinary Tea Party. It first started when Caleb (always immediately mimic-ed by Ellie) announced we needed some groceries. So Aaron made a grocery list for Caleb to remember - apples, bananas, something starting with a "c", donuts and eggs - and told him how to remember each item because they all started with the alphabet. And Caleb took his money (which somehow materialized out of thin air ... ahhhh, that I could have that power!), took Aaron's keys, hopped in the car and took off to the grocery store (which interestingly resembled our bedroom). And he came back with all the groceries! He remembered the entire list. What a smart boy! HA!
Anyways, the kids eventually figured we needed to buy some tea. So they took me to the grocery store ... (I didn't know the grocery store had laundry baskets with clean laundry ready to be put away in it!) ... and we finally found the tea on what looked to be a computer desk. Caleb was about to walk out of the grocery store without paying (gasp!), but I insisted we stop by the nearest laundry basket to pay for our tea. Phew! Then we returned to Ellie's room (and her little house filled with tea cups and such), and Caleb and Ellie made us tea. Over and over again. And then they swiped our tea and ran squealing off into the sunset (which looked like the hallway) ... only to return to offer us more tea. And I learned that Caleb likes his tea with 30 lumps of sugar. A little tea with his sugar, eh? Aaron became a tea taster as he made a "tea smelling apparatus" for his nose made of out legos. The kids didn't even notice it was there. I think Caleb tried to fool us by offering us tea out of a Little People toilet chair instead of a cup ... but we didn't fall for that! HA - we weren't born yesterday!
Well, the kids are in bed ... both simultaneously yelling for us. And we have our new date TV show (now that The Office is on summer break) ... "Royal Pains". Very good show!
Happy 4th!
~JG
Anyways, the kids eventually figured we needed to buy some tea. So they took me to the grocery store ... (I didn't know the grocery store had laundry baskets with clean laundry ready to be put away in it!) ... and we finally found the tea on what looked to be a computer desk. Caleb was about to walk out of the grocery store without paying (gasp!), but I insisted we stop by the nearest laundry basket to pay for our tea. Phew! Then we returned to Ellie's room (and her little house filled with tea cups and such), and Caleb and Ellie made us tea. Over and over again. And then they swiped our tea and ran squealing off into the sunset (which looked like the hallway) ... only to return to offer us more tea. And I learned that Caleb likes his tea with 30 lumps of sugar. A little tea with his sugar, eh? Aaron became a tea taster as he made a "tea smelling apparatus" for his nose made of out legos. The kids didn't even notice it was there. I think Caleb tried to fool us by offering us tea out of a Little People toilet chair instead of a cup ... but we didn't fall for that! HA - we weren't born yesterday!
Well, the kids are in bed ... both simultaneously yelling for us. And we have our new date TV show (now that The Office is on summer break) ... "Royal Pains". Very good show!
Happy 4th!
~JG
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Day Out with Thomas!
Sunday after church, we all headed off to Strasburg, PA (about 1 1/2 hours west of us) for a little family getaway and to enjoy "A Day Out with Thomas"! Caleb (and Ellie) had such a blast last year ... he still talks about it ... that we decided to go this year as well. Only a few short years until they are on to bigger and older things! sniff.
Anyways, we had a lovely time! We stayed the night at the Red Caboose Motel - all the rooms are old train cars - situated on a farm right across from the Railroad Station. We had a blast exploring our train-room! Inside was a double bed and a bunkbed with a futon underneath. And yes ... a very small bathroom. :-) But it was surprisingly comfy!
We watched the Amish drive by in their buggies ("Why are they called buggies?" "Ummm, 'cuz they are."). We saw the farm animals - they particularly liked the "blond pony" - played on the nice wooden swing set, climbed the "tower" (a silo with 72 stairs winding up for a view of the countryside ... jelly-legs!), and then, my favorite, we joined other guests at dusk and watched "Monsters Inc." on the side of the barn, all wrapped up together in a blanket, with popcorn (just our family in the blanket - not the other guests ... perhaps I should clarify ...). It was a lovely night and I didn't even get a single bug bite! God is good.
Monday we ate breakfast in the Caboose Train car (chocolate chip pancakes - YUM!) and headed over to the Train Station. We had tickets to ride Thomas at 11:15, and the kids were SOOOOOO excited!
Here's a video from on the train ... Caleb was so intent on looking around he couldn't even comment about the train ride. :-)
We played with train tables (of course) and did a few other train "rides" as well ...
... the little train Cagney (they were pretty excited to go through the tunnel)
... the Cranky Cars (the kids sat and propelled the car by bicycling with their hands)
... and the push car (Aaron and I did the work while the kids held on ... what a workout!).
We had a lot of fun, and the kids were tuckered out during the ride home. Caleb picked out a replica of one of the diesel trains for his train table ... and he is treasuring it! He still treasures the Express Coaches that he picked out at last year's Day Out with Thomas. It's neat to see him look at the picture of the REAL train #90, and then squeal about his little wooden train #90.
Ahhhhhh ... the joy of trains. I wish I would've thought of a wierd little talking train years ago ... I'd be rich.
~JG
Anyways, we had a lovely time! We stayed the night at the Red Caboose Motel - all the rooms are old train cars - situated on a farm right across from the Railroad Station. We had a blast exploring our train-room! Inside was a double bed and a bunkbed with a futon underneath. And yes ... a very small bathroom. :-) But it was surprisingly comfy!
We watched the Amish drive by in their buggies ("Why are they called buggies?" "Ummm, 'cuz they are."). We saw the farm animals - they particularly liked the "blond pony" - played on the nice wooden swing set, climbed the "tower" (a silo with 72 stairs winding up for a view of the countryside ... jelly-legs!), and then, my favorite, we joined other guests at dusk and watched "Monsters Inc." on the side of the barn, all wrapped up together in a blanket, with popcorn (just our family in the blanket - not the other guests ... perhaps I should clarify ...). It was a lovely night and I didn't even get a single bug bite! God is good.
Monday we ate breakfast in the Caboose Train car (chocolate chip pancakes - YUM!) and headed over to the Train Station. We had tickets to ride Thomas at 11:15, and the kids were SOOOOOO excited!
Here's a video from on the train ... Caleb was so intent on looking around he couldn't even comment about the train ride. :-)
We played with train tables (of course) and did a few other train "rides" as well ...
... the little train Cagney (they were pretty excited to go through the tunnel)
... the Cranky Cars (the kids sat and propelled the car by bicycling with their hands)
... and the push car (Aaron and I did the work while the kids held on ... what a workout!).
We had a lot of fun, and the kids were tuckered out during the ride home. Caleb picked out a replica of one of the diesel trains for his train table ... and he is treasuring it! He still treasures the Express Coaches that he picked out at last year's Day Out with Thomas. It's neat to see him look at the picture of the REAL train #90, and then squeal about his little wooden train #90.
Ahhhhhh ... the joy of trains. I wish I would've thought of a wierd little talking train years ago ... I'd be rich.
~JG
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
An Adventure in Life ...
Today we had a play date at the Please Touch Museum in Philly with Caleb's bestest-estest friend Isaac and his mommy (and my friend) Jackie. Was Caleb EVER excited! I told him we would be leaving about when the little clock hand reached the 12 (for those who do not wish to think - that is noon). At 10am, he ran up to me and told me excitedly, "Mommy, the big hand is at the 12 - we can go to the museum now!!!! C'mon, let's go!" and I had to break it to him that the LITTLE hand had to reac the 12, not the big hand. He sighed and said, "OK. I'll be patient." Oh, my little boy!
Well, time did pass, we ate lunch and we left. I was so prepared with changes of clothes, fruit snacks, hand sanitizer (never forgetting the fateful Thanksgiving incident of the puking bug probably picked up from the PTM - yuck), trains (for the train table there - a favorite), directions from the PTM's home page, cell phone (often forgotten at home), camera (fully charged), books for the car ... I was SUPER MOM! So, I haven't actually driven to the PTM, but I've been passenger many a time, so I thought I had it nailed. I even debriefed Aaron before leaving, and knew to stay in the left lanes, as the exit from 676 to 76 was a left exit ... fool proof, right? Oh no ... hence the title "Adventure in Life".
The PTM's directions never mention a direction on 676 ... there was no "676E" or "676W" to 76. Nope. Just "take 676 to 76". Ahhhh, trusting fool that I was. Apparently, there are 2 directions you can take. And there is not much time to decide which way to go. I had no time to process and analyze whether going east or west would get me to my desired location before I had to choose, so I choose ... and of course, choose incorrectly. I made the mistake of muttering "Stupid signs", which got Caleb to asking "Why did you say stupid signs, mommy?" so I tried to nonchalantly explain that I had made a mistake and would have to turn around ... somewhere ... and it wasn't a big deal and it would be a little adventure! As I'm driving, I'm thinking, "This does not look right. I took the wrong way! ARGHHH! How do I turn around? I'm downtown Philly - there is no way to turn around! It's all one-ways and wierd round-a-bout paths to get to main roads ... ARGHHH ... oh no ... I'm on the Ben Franklin Bridge driving across the river into New Jersey! Sigh. There is definitely no u-turn now ..." And as I'm thinking all this, Caleb is saying, "Mommy, where are we? You made a mistake, mommy? How do we turn around? How do we turn around, mommy? Are we still going to the museum? Can we turn around and go to the museum? ... Let's just turn around and go to the museum."
So, we cross the Ben Franklin Bridge and enter Camden, NJ - not a place I'd like to drive around lost in - so I pull over and call Aaron (thank God for cell phones!). I say, "Hi honey. I have a question for you. Say ... someone happened to be in Camden instead of at the Please Touch Museum ... how would that someone happen to turn around, go back over the Ben Franklin Bridge and find her way to the museum?" He laughed, then empathized (like a very thoughtful husband), and then became my knight in shining armor (from afar) as he went online to google maps and directed me street by street back over the bridge (a rather round-a-bout but not impossible path) and to 676 (the correct direction). What a man!!!
And somewhere in there, while trying to escape NJ, Caleb pipes up, "It's OK mommy! If we drive over that bridge again, we won't have to call daddy because we'll know how to turn around!" And I immediately smiled (as I looked for 9th street to turn right on), because that is so true. If we make a mistake (I hope I am not the only one who makes these), we can make a choice to learn from it. And then we move on with life. And hopefully not make the mistake again! I know now that if I accidentally drive over the Ben Franklin Bridge and need to turn around, I can take the Water front exit, take a right on 9th street, take a left after the bridge-thingy (also follow the teeeeeny green signs pointing for the BFB) and then another left leading to the toll ways. I also learned that it is a $4 and 20 minute mistake (although I could whittle down the minutes next time). And I also learned that my kids learn how to deal with mistakes by watching me deal with my mistakes.
So, we DID make it, had a great time and made it back home without ANY wrong turns. YES.
~JG
Well, time did pass, we ate lunch and we left. I was so prepared with changes of clothes, fruit snacks, hand sanitizer (never forgetting the fateful Thanksgiving incident of the puking bug probably picked up from the PTM - yuck), trains (for the train table there - a favorite), directions from the PTM's home page, cell phone (often forgotten at home), camera (fully charged), books for the car ... I was SUPER MOM! So, I haven't actually driven to the PTM, but I've been passenger many a time, so I thought I had it nailed. I even debriefed Aaron before leaving, and knew to stay in the left lanes, as the exit from 676 to 76 was a left exit ... fool proof, right? Oh no ... hence the title "Adventure in Life".
The PTM's directions never mention a direction on 676 ... there was no "676E" or "676W" to 76. Nope. Just "take 676 to 76". Ahhhh, trusting fool that I was. Apparently, there are 2 directions you can take. And there is not much time to decide which way to go. I had no time to process and analyze whether going east or west would get me to my desired location before I had to choose, so I choose ... and of course, choose incorrectly. I made the mistake of muttering "Stupid signs", which got Caleb to asking "Why did you say stupid signs, mommy?" so I tried to nonchalantly explain that I had made a mistake and would have to turn around ... somewhere ... and it wasn't a big deal and it would be a little adventure! As I'm driving, I'm thinking, "This does not look right. I took the wrong way! ARGHHH! How do I turn around? I'm downtown Philly - there is no way to turn around! It's all one-ways and wierd round-a-bout paths to get to main roads ... ARGHHH ... oh no ... I'm on the Ben Franklin Bridge driving across the river into New Jersey! Sigh. There is definitely no u-turn now ..." And as I'm thinking all this, Caleb is saying, "Mommy, where are we? You made a mistake, mommy? How do we turn around? How do we turn around, mommy? Are we still going to the museum? Can we turn around and go to the museum? ... Let's just turn around and go to the museum."
So, we cross the Ben Franklin Bridge and enter Camden, NJ - not a place I'd like to drive around lost in - so I pull over and call Aaron (thank God for cell phones!). I say, "Hi honey. I have a question for you. Say ... someone happened to be in Camden instead of at the Please Touch Museum ... how would that someone happen to turn around, go back over the Ben Franklin Bridge and find her way to the museum?" He laughed, then empathized (like a very thoughtful husband), and then became my knight in shining armor (from afar) as he went online to google maps and directed me street by street back over the bridge (a rather round-a-bout but not impossible path) and to 676 (the correct direction). What a man!!!
And somewhere in there, while trying to escape NJ, Caleb pipes up, "It's OK mommy! If we drive over that bridge again, we won't have to call daddy because we'll know how to turn around!" And I immediately smiled (as I looked for 9th street to turn right on), because that is so true. If we make a mistake (I hope I am not the only one who makes these), we can make a choice to learn from it. And then we move on with life. And hopefully not make the mistake again! I know now that if I accidentally drive over the Ben Franklin Bridge and need to turn around, I can take the Water front exit, take a right on 9th street, take a left after the bridge-thingy (also follow the teeeeeny green signs pointing for the BFB) and then another left leading to the toll ways. I also learned that it is a $4 and 20 minute mistake (although I could whittle down the minutes next time). And I also learned that my kids learn how to deal with mistakes by watching me deal with my mistakes.
So, we DID make it, had a great time and made it back home without ANY wrong turns. YES.
~JG
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