RenovationGirl

Back From The Beach

Every year, as we venture to the beach, ee cummings' poem, "maggie and milly and molly and may" comes into my mind.  Particularly the last couplet, "For whatever we lose, like a you or a me / it's always ourselves we find in the sea."  It's so true isn't it?  Something magical happens at the beach...the rolling of the tides, the sounds of waves crashing against the shore like they've been doing for a gazillion years, the warm sand caressing your shoe weary feet, the slight wind tousling salt-water stiffened hair...you feel at peace, at home, free. 

 

This vacation was nice...not as relaxing as I would have liked since I have to work throughout the vacation (and without a reliable internet connection, I did most of the work on my phone-ugh!), but we had some good family time.

Builder Boy is a total fish...he just loves to be in the water.  Big giant tumbling waves?  No problem! 

 

9 feet of water in the pool, bring it on!

 

Thinking about life while looking at the water? Oh yeah!

 

Builder Boy is so natural in the water and around it.  He feels at home, at peace...it's his thing.  This made the entire vacation a perfect vacation for me-for Builder Boy to have a sense of peace and comfort surrounded by the waves. 

One Month To Go!

In one month's time, lots of things will be happening for us.  We will have just celebrated Thanksgiving with our families and will be in full holiday preparation mode.  We look forward to this particular holiday since my husband's entire family usually makes it into town-and this is no small feat.  It is a day of eating and talking and laughing and eating some more and talking some more and laughing some more.  It's always a party with my in-laws, even when it's not a party and I like this stress-free day of family.

Around this time, too, will be a change in our lives.  Assuming all goes well, my final monthly blood work check will be over and we will be done with the "not trying" phase of our infertility.  Not sure where that leaves us.  In talking about recently, both Remodel Man and I admitted that while another baby would be wonderful, we would be okay with moving on.  Don't get me wrong, I ache when I see those bright-eyed babies smiling at me at they suck their fingers, but Builder Boy is five now.  He's largely independent. He's easier in some ways than ever and we are able to do more with him.  I think we are both in the "if it happens it happens" camp.  I'm still sad that we are a family of three, but more for Builder Boy than anyone.  So, when the times come and we're given the go ahead to try again, I think we'll just not hinder anything from happening, but we also won't actively "try."

In a month's time, I may also be experiencing a change in career.  I am toying with the decision now, but I'm not convinced which way is the best way for me and for my family.

The most exciting part of the end of November is that we're going to the happiest place on earth-Disney World.  I could not be more excited, especially because we are staying in a pirate room at the Caribbean Resort.  Builder Boy is a big fan of pirates so he will love this.  I'm excited to experience the magic of this trip with Builder Boy and Remodel Man. 

So, this month is a big one for us.  How about for you?

GPS Joys

We don't own a GPS system.  Until they come down in price, directions printed from one of the many map sites and an actual map (you know they still print those, right?) are just fine, thank you. My only experience with one was last summer when I visited BBM.  I had to drive separately and in case I got lost, they put theirs in my car.  It was so stressful.  That GPS lady totally stressed me out.  Turn here?  Oh no.  Okay, 500 feet...how many is 500 feet?  Should I get out and measure it out?  You want me to turn into that driveway?  AAAAHHHH.

We drove to vacation this year with my parents (who are yet un-named on this blog...suggestions?) in their Sante Fe (Three days later, I still can't get the feeling back into my legs...).  My dad set up the GPS and off we went.  We spent the next ten hours being yelled at, quite snottily, by the GPS lady.  She insisted, for at least 30 minutes, that "in the next 800 feet, make a U-turn." 

But the best came when she told us to "turn right onto Route 40."   Builder Boy snickered to himself.  "Yaya," I heard him whisper to my mother, "That lady just said farty.  We're driving on Route Farty!"

A Vacation for Dick VanDyke

When you rent out a three bedroom condo at the beach, they are always furnished in a similar way.  The master bedroom holds a king size bed, the other two bedrooms hold a queen size bed and two twin beds, respectively.  The assumption, I assume, is that there will be a set of grandparents, parents and two kids.  The perfect family vacation.  I also assume that the owners want as many people to rent out their place as possible, and providing a variety of ways to fit those sleeping people helps their rental income.

Up until this year, this set up has worked for us.  But this year, with a new person along for the trip (my sister's boyfriend), the sleeping arrangements changed.  That, and the fact that one of the bedrooms had a tile floor.  Remodel Man, Builder Boy, and I take either the master bedroom or the bedroom with the queen size bed, depending on which has more floor space since Builder Boy sleeps on his Cars air mattress.  This year, the master bedroom  has little floor space and the queen size bedroom had the tiled floor.  This left us with the twin beds. 

So there we laid every night...me in my twin bed, Builder Boy next to me on the floor in his Cars air bed, and next to him, in his very own twin bed, was Remodel Man.  It certainly wasn't the exciting marital situation we expected.

It was like vacationing on a 1960's sitcom.  Just don't ask me to wear one of those modest house dresses to bed...

Blogging from the Beach - Part 2

We're mostly packed up and ready to leave first thing in the morning.  Why is it so hard to leave the beach?  For me, it's the thought of going back to a cluttered, disorganized house, a new job search, and the upcoming school year at a job that I have not liked for years.  (If you're relatively new to this blog, I lost one of my four jobs...doesn't sound as so bad, except we rely on that income.)   But, before I go back to the stress of reality, here's what we've been up to.

Day Four:  The weather forecast for the entire week showed thunderstorms every day, but we somehow keep missing these storms.  Today is no exception.  We head down late to the beach, but continue playing in the waves.  Each day, Builder Boy gets a little braver with the water, which is great, except I feel that we have to be even more watchful.  We spent some time at the pool today, too, so he can practice his swimming.  Today, he started jumping off the side, something he hasn't done since last year.  He's doing great!  We all clean up and do a family dinner at the Cottage Cafe, a place that everyone has told us to go to-we're not overly impressed, but it's good to be with the whole group.  After dinner and an ice cream, Builder Boy goes home with my parents while my sister, her boyfriend, and Remodel Man and I cruise over to stroll Rehoboth Beach in a light rain. 

Day Five: For Builder Boy, a beach vacation would not be perfect without a trip to Frontier town.  While most places like this come off tacky, this town is heaven for little boys, and I'll admit that my whole family enjoys the experience.  We first watched an Native American ceremonial dance from a Native American family.  It was unbelievable-beautiful and inspiring and so darn cool.  We also learned about the true Native Americans and not what Hollywood shows us.  We watched a reenactment of a western shoot-out, mined for gold, petted a super-soft donkey who took a liking to me, rode on a pony swing, and bought a ton of Western and Native American toys for Builder Boy.  It was so hot that day, but we had a great time.  We stopped at Grotto's pizza where we consumed too much pizza and gelato.  That night, Remodel Man and I sat on the balcony, listening to the waves, dreading going home, and just being.  

Day Six:  On your last day at the beach, you always want a picture perfect day.  Grey clouds threatened the skies when we first got up, but they quickly blew out to sea.  It was hot.  We spent a lot of time in the water, and the waves were at first easy, then smashing.  We all got a little too much sun when we hung out at the pool in the late afternoon, but it was a good, tired, sunburned feeling.  We headed out to Warren's Station for dinner and soon after  we sat down, a huge storm moved in.  We spent a long time at dinner, from salads, to desserts and coffee.  Then, we went on the search to find me a new sweatshirt.  In the rain.  It was not so pleasant, so it was good I found a cool one quickly.  We spent the rest of the night packing up. 

I love vacations.  I love going to the beach.  I hate going home.  WAAAAAAAAHH!!! Ah well, back to reality!   

Frolic and Fun

Before the evening-long meltdown of Builder Boy, the two of us went to the pool for a quick dip.  Going at dinnertime is a great time to go...we practically have the pool to ourselves, some parts are shaded so no need to lather up with sunscreen (a process that neither of us enjoys), and we can work up an appetite and head home hungry.  Builder Boy gets pretty excited and it takes a lot to get him out of the pool and into the car.  Tonight was no exception.  He tried every method in the "I'm a Preschool Manipulator" book, but nothing was working for him.  Until...he turned to me with his caramel-colored eyes and said, "But Mama, we could stay and frolic and fun some more." 

Okay, (snort, snort), we can stay for a few more minutes, but tell me, where'd ya learn those words?"  I asked thinking it was from my mom and dad.  After all, who uses the word "frolic" besides old, excuse me, more mature individuals?  Nope, he learned it from that silly yellow cleaning thing with pants not made of triangles.  The silver lining...at least he's learning something good from it, too, to counteract all the bad stuff.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Tomorrow, we're heading out on a road trip, Builder Boy and me.  We're going to frolic a bit with Black Belt Mamaand her kids.  Okay, we're not exactly frolicking, but it will be fun.  I'm going to be helping BBM pack up and move out of her house since she had maybe a month from accepting the buyer's bid to moving out which is just nuts with two kids and only seven months post-ACL surgery.  Here we come, BBM-help is on the way!

I promise to write a bit about my vacation since there were some good things to share.  Work is still busy, making it difficult to find time to write.  I know, though, that some of you are dying to hear the low-down on John-I'm-a-Beach-Boy-Stamos!  You'll be underwhelmed, I assure you...

Home again, home again...

We're back from our vacation, all still in one piece...barely.  Lots to write about, but first, loads of laundry and a busy work week.  Oh, and getting caught up on my blog reading and writing! 

The highlights of our trip:

• Seeing what's left of the Beach Boys perform at the beach (oh, and with John Stamos).
• Watching Builder Boy play in the waves and the sand.
• Seeing a beautiful sunset on the bay.
• Laughing with Remodel Man over as much as we possibly could. 
• Taking a pirate ship adventure and heading off to a "wild West" town with Builder Boy. 

I managed to do a bit of writing (with a pen and paper) so I would remember what I wanted to post about when I got home.  You'll be seeing that soon.

Hope the past week was a good one!

I'm Twelve All Over Again

As I write this, my "to-do" list is longer than my arm.  I should be doing laundry, packing, cleaning up the house, making a side dish for tomorrow's picnic, writing instructions for the house-sitter, etc.  In 36 hours, the Renovators are going on vacation.  This is good, right?  In the long run, yes, it is good.  In the short-term?  Let's just say I need some strong drinks and a good meditation podcast to get me through. 

For the past two years, we have vacationed with my family.  My parents are very generous folk who pay for much of the vacation, enabling Remodel Man and I to take Builder Boy on vacation.  It is a blast to watch Builder Boy navigate the sand and waves, build sandcastles, and live in an apartment away from home.  We are making memories.  We are getting awesome pictures.  We are bonding with my family.

Oh, the bonding that goes on.  It seems that within 10 minutes of arriving at the condo that we stay in (all of us...together...for seven days...), my family has reverted back to our original family roles...my sister and my father constantly fight-him to prove he is right, her to antagonize, my  mother tries to take care of everything and mediate as best she can, and me?  Ever the Libra, I, too, attempt to balance the situation, occasionally fight for myself, get sick to my stomach, and vow never to do this again.  Builder Boy and Remodel Man are just innocent bystanders.  Poor things. 

It frustrates me that we cannot break free from these rules...that we must be crabby and inflexible instead of just living in the moment and going with the flow.  But my family is not a "go with the flow" kind of family.  Oh, individually, we think we are (we're totally not, not one of us), but collectively, we're not and we all know it. 

My goal this year was to let the others fight and just go with what they want.  Hey, I'm at the beach with no cares (that I can do anything about while there), so I'll just go with it.  About a week ago, I said my peace-as long as Builder Boy was able to ride the Pirate ship and go to the Old West town and I got to eat one meal at a favorite restaurant, the rest was up to them to fight about.  I'm not doing it.  I won't do it.  I can't do it.

Yet...we haven't even left yet and already I am being made to feel like a twelve year old all over again.  Listening to the disapproving voice of my father, disappointed in something that hasn't even happened yet.  Baiting me (and failing) into an argument over our departure time (cause ya know, it's no fun unless you caravan...).  After getting off of the phone and using some choice expletives, I reminded myself that I am not, in fact, twelve.  I am an adult, with a family and house to manage, three jobs to work, and two Masters degrees behind me.  Clearly, I am capable and competent.  Right?  Cause if not, I'm going to have to grow me some big old bangs for my hair, buy some penny loafers and turtlenecks with a fake pearl necklace, and find my Wham! album.  (yes, and I mean album). 

Vacations are great, aren't they? 

________________________________________________________________________________________

I've asked Black Belt Mama to guest post for me while I am away.  If you don't already read her, you're in for a real treat.  Her house just sold on Tuesday and she has to be out of her house and into her parents' house by August 1st because her new house won't be done until October.  Plenty of great material there!  Enjoy!