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As soon as I have a few extra minutes, I'll power up the laptop and post the notes from the trip, which was so much fun!

Berkshires 2006 - Day 7

Thursday was great fun, even without Shara having a nap. Bubbe & Papa met us at the resort and they came in for a few minutes where we tried to figure out where we were going to go for the day. We originally were going to go to the Norman Rockwell Museum, but with it being rather late, we opted to go to lunch and play it by ear. Mom brought Shara a plastic duck bill / horn. "Noisy Duck, Noisy Duck", away. So that was the end of duck. We applied the appropriate stickers for the day and got in the van to go to the Barrington Brew Pub, again. We figured it was quick and easy to find parking, but along the way I realized that none of our meals were really good enough to go back, other than the sweet potato fries, so we went back to Martins for lunch. Shara & I repeated our breakfast of the other day and Alan had a burger. He said it was good, but not like the one from the Purple Pub. He was also not feeling too well - took antihistamine and was really tired. Mom & Irwin liked their lunches too. Shara didn't really want any pancake today, but ate over 1/2 of the broccoli omelette.

After lunch, which, as usual, we left in a hurry (when Shara doesn't have food in front of her, she's more than done), we went to look around Stockbridge. We had fun. Alan got a cupcake and coffee from the bakery and relaxed on a bench, Irwin relaxed on the veranda of the Red Lion Inn and mom, Shara and I went looking in the General Store. We then walked over to the Red Lion Inn to check out their gift shop. Mom wanted to get Shara a little something and Shara liked the idea of the travel pack of tissues with cats on them. She really liked those! We relaxed a little and took some pictures then we got back in the car and went to the Lenox Shops to seek out Chocolate Springs. Shara was way overdue for a nap, so wasn't at her most relaxed. We were going to get her some ice cream - homemade, of course. The man offered a sample and I said that would probably be enough for her, but she didn't want anything to do with it. I enjoyed it! It was really amazing - custard, more than ice cream. This place was a fabulous place - we had nice iced coffee drinks - I had the iced mocha, made with their own chocolate. Shara was actually very good. She played a bit with Alan, walked around looking at the chocolate with me, and sat with Bubbe, but I had to pass her off to Alan so I could decide what I wanted for my chocolate purchase. I finally decided on their version of a turtle. Of course I didn't eat it until that night, but it was like no turtle I ever had. The caramel was more like a butterscotch. It was so flavorful and the pecans were super-fresh. I can't describe the chocolate - it was smooth, creamy and rich, but didn't overpower the caramel, or vice-versa. So, after Chocolate Springs we played outside a little and took a look at the linen outlet. Sadly we had to end the day, but on the way back to the resort, Alan & I decided to go home today, rather than rush out and waste a day driving. There was a bit of a rush to get it all packed up, but Shara sat in the chair and watched us run around. That was when she wasn't trying to escape out the door or when she got into the garbage and knocked out the coffee grinds! Let's face it, it wasn't much fun for her having to stay out of the way while we packed. I'm sure it was pretty confusing as well. Come on, we're going home now!

The trip home wasn't anything special. Since Shara didn't have any nap, we figured she'd sleep the whole way and she did, up until we hit 495. We didn't want to deal with dinner, so we went to Maguire's. We didn't get there until 7PM, Shara's normal bedtime, but she did great. She ate a 1/2 plate of macaroni & cheese (Kraft) and I really enjoyed the chicken pear salad. Alan had an ok Reuben.

Since we came home early, we had an extra day to play. Shara & I went to SAILS to pick up a couple of videos I had on hold and we took a little trip to Target to see if they had any invitations for her Birthday. We're going with the butterfly theme, inspired by Magic Wings. They didn't have anything, but we took a nice walk through the parking lot over to the party store, which also didn't have anything!

Berkshires 2006 - Day 6

Wednesday we took about an hour trip to Williamstown to find a playground and look around the town. We had breakfast - oatmeal, then took a bath and headed out. The trip wasn't too long and we went through farmland and saw the mountains. It was a beautiful, but a little chilly, day. Our first stop was a bookstore to ask where the playground was, since we went right by it and didn't see it. It was a very nice bookstore on Water St. We used their bathrooms (thank you!) and went to the park. Shara always loves the swings and today was no different. I think she swinged for at least 20 minutes. She also went down the slide a few times but then it was back to swinging!

After the park we went into the town and looked for a place to eat. Alan had to make an emergency trip to the car for Duck and Shara & I looked around for somewhere to eat. I thought there would be more to the town than there was, but there wasn't. There was really only one good choice for lunch with child and it turned out to be an excellent one. It was the Purple Pub - a real bar, but they had the best burgers and the special of the day was American Chop Suey which sounded really good to Shara. While I was in the rest room, they asked Alan if we wanted a child size portion and he said the regular. I would have said the child, but it's a good thing he didn't. We did leave with leftovers but Shara ate over 1/2.
After lunch we looked in one of the gift stores and then went to get an ice cream. Shara liked the looks of the purple cow - black raspberry ice cream with dark & white chocolate. We got it in a cup and mommy & Shara shared.

Since it was going to take another hour to get back to Lee, we left after ice cream. This was also good timing since it was Shara's nap time. Shara fell asleep in about 5 minutes and we decided to take a detour and find the other resort in the area. The Ponds at Fox Hollow was very nice and quiet. Very different from where we were staying. I think when we're ready to go back in a couple years it will be perfect for us. We then went back to the room and had leftovers for supper.

Berkshires 2006 - Day 5

Tuesday we woke up, got ready and went to Great Barrington for the best breakfast ever at Martin's. This was voted the best breakfast in GB and it was. I had high hopes and it met my expectations. Shara and I "split" a broccoli & cheddar omelette and apple pancakes. I ate almost all, but she really enjoyed it too. She liked dipping her pancakes in the ketchup and needed the maple syrup on her plate, but didn't seem to use it. Alan had his usual - eggs over medium, bacon, home fries, & toast. He said his was good, but he wasn't as over-enthused as I was. Great restaurant for kids. In fact, there were a couple of groups with kids while we were there, and very friendly clientelle. I think they were mostly locals.
Since it was so nice and sunny out, after breakfast we took a nice walk down Railroad St. to the left and down by the river to look at the sculpture. Shara took a stroller walk and we also brought baby, who now has the name Bella. We left Bella in Shara's stroller by the horse sculpture and walked around to look at the others. It was fun and we played around and around one of them. We then walked up the other side of Main St. and went into a few shops. A cute one was Pink Cloud. They have cat clocks but I liked the cat birdfeeder. Shara was really good touching everything. There were several items that were unbreakable and I took a look at how often I touch things in stores and realized that she isn't doing anything different than I. Even in the two or three toy stores in the town - she would pick things up and look at them and then put them down. She really is very gentle, as her Jidor says. The toy store on Railroad St. seemed to be the most enjoyable for Shara. She could have stayed there all day playing with the Brio / Thomas the Tank Engine Railroad set. I told Alan I'd really like to get her one and think next Hannukah / Christmas would be the time. She just got her kitchen and needs to use that for longer. I also don't think she'll appreciate a railroad set for at least that long.

We then went back to the room for lunch - leftovers - and a nap. Shara slept for her usual two hours and I did the laundry and Alan cleaned up the rooms. We decided to stay in for dinner since we had so many leftovers (mostly from Bizen but Shara ended up eating all the chicken and melted cheese, onions & peppers from her sub!) still and just played around the apartment, had supper and went to bed.

Berkshires 2006 - Day 4

Monday was much better. Much better. We woke early and took our time getting ready. Shara only had a smoothie for breakfast but had no interest in eating anything else and if she was hungry she'd eat. We had a nice bath and got ready for a day of what, we didn't really know. Alan saw info on a butterfly place and that looked interesting. There's one in Stockbridge and we found out it is only open May - Oct. but another one is open year round. This happened to be an hour away so we didn't bother and went out to see what was in historic Lenox. Not too much, but we found a bagel place and had a bagel and Shara had a raisin bran muffin, of which she picked out and ate all the raisins and not too much of the muffin. We went for a stoller walk and saw the library, closed, a kitchen store, closed, and other assorted galleries and markets. It was cold and there wasn't much more to see but Shara really wanted to keep walking. We got her in the car because I told her we'd go look for diapers for baby - the size 4's didn't fit her very well. This was really what I thought we'd do, not just a ploy to get her in the car. There's a nice toy store in Great Barrington and many more shops there. As we started in that direction Shara fell asleep so we took an about face and drove the hour to Deerfield to Magic Wings, the butterfly place. Such a great idea Alan!

We got there and Shara was still sleeping so we went to the bathroom and waited. She woke up and we did a diaper change where she screamed the whole time but eventually it was done and we went inside. Shara wanted uppie and wouldn't walk herself. The first room is filled with insects and reptiles. The hissing cockaroches were lovely. We went into the butterfly room and it was so much more amazing than I ever thought it would be. This is something I can't believe I'll ever have the opportunity to experience in nature - there were tons of butterflies. Alan did the math and said there were butterflies every 1'x2'. The most prominant variety were the blue morphoes - the one in Silence of the Lambs. But there were at least 50 varieties (trying to remember the chart). Shara eventually allowed us to put her down, not that she really had a choice, and she learned to walk around by herself. For a Monday there were a lot of people there. Kids and adults, many taking photographs. Shara had so much fun looking at the fish in a small pond they had, the miniature quails, birds, and butterflies. She was really good - didn't chase them, but after her first ice cream cone we went back in and she started running around and did touch a couple of the flowers, which no one is supposed to do. Oh well, I doubt she caused any major damage. She was always aware of where we were and didn't go to far away and had so much fun climbing on the built in benches in one of their gazeboes. She pulled herself up on the bench and only needed a little bit of support sliding herself down, then over to the opposite bench and up, then down - she did that for at least 15 minutes!

So she had an ice cream cone, that she specifically asked for. I asked her if she was hungry, since we hadn't eaten anything since around 10 AM and it was already 1:30PM and she said ice cream. She had seen another girl eating a cone. I said fine and now realize we always need to ask for a dish along with. There was a hole in the bottom and the cone experience was way too rushed for Shara. But she was ok about mommy eating her cone really quickly as it was dripping all over the floor. After the cone we went in for more butterflies and that's what we did until about 3:30 PM. It was the best thing for another dreary day. It really didn't rain too much though, but it was chilly.

We got back in the car and headed in search of Richardson's Candy. Couldn't find it but we did find Yankee Candle Toys. I had no idea what we were going to find in this big building. I thought we could continue our search for diapers so when we got inside of this massive and beautiful toy store I asked if they had any and got no for an answer. That was fine because they had tons of other interesting things to look at and the displays were amazing. Along the ceiling was a conveyor of toys from Santa's Workshop and trains all over. Shara really liked playing with the Thomas the Train set. She does seem to gravitate toward the train sets whenever we're in a store. We meandered around the puppets and went to the castle and saw the biggest nutcracker I've ever seen. They had a waterfall and in the Department 56 room it was snowing! Shara was awed by it all, as was I. Alan was even impressed. As soon as we started getting close to the "stinky" part, we turned around. I didn't think I'd mind, but took one whiff of the orange candle (how bad can orange be?) and turned around quick. It was really gross. It was also close to 4:30 PM and we had an hour drive back. We got on the road, gassed up and headed back to the room for diapers, wipes and baby.

For dinner we were able to get to Bizen and it wasn't very crowded, though it did start filling up during our dinner. Shara sat in a booster seat for the first time and we were in a corner table - mommy at the bottom of the "L" and then Shara in the corner and Daddy next to her on the longer side. Other than Shara kicking me though the whole dinner, she was very good. She played with her cups until dinner arrived. Shara had the Udon with tempura vegetables, Alan had teriyaki sea bass with a salad and I had teriyaki salmon with miso soup. We also ordered edamame (so fun to play with) and some sushi (Japanese gourd for Shara to try, which she didn't, red tuna sashimi & white albacore tuna sushi). I didn't want to have any sushi either. It all came pretty much at the same time, which was great for dining with a child, but not for relaxing and savoring. Even with the rush, everything tasted wonderful. The salmon melted in my mouth and the vegetables that came with it were crisp and so fresh. Shara ate her noodles (we should have gotten a picture) by the handful. They were stickier than I would have thought. She also had some sweet potato and butternut squash tempura and a bite of my salmon. I had told her at the beginning of the meal that if we had a good suppertime and she acted "nice" we could get dessert. It's funny but when she's done, she's done and couldn't care about anything else. So when she was done, we cleaned up and I took her for a walk down the street while Alan got things packed up. He said they were really good about the whole thing - they saw we were done and were really fast about getting our things together. He left a big tip. Shara and I walked down the street hand in hand, only after I gave her the shpeal about the cars not driving on the sidewalk but in the road and we would be fine if she just held my hand and we stayed on the sidewalk. She's so cautious - must have a great imagination. We did have fun looking in the storefronts and will go back the next non-raining day, which is supposed to be Wednesday.

We got back to the room around 7:30 PM and she was so funny. We went into her room for a diaper change and she turns on the TV. I give in since I want her still for a change, and she leaps up to the head of the bed, lays down and starts watching tv. She looked like a teenager. It was so funny. I pull her down, we laugh and I try to get her to have a change and she's too wired. I forget that kids don't settle down as easily as adults. Eventually she does settle down and we all read Gossie & Friends, say "goodnight" to the moon and the river and daddy and get into bed. I try to tell her that she knows I'm going out the door even if she's crying, so she should just lay down nice, but she doesn't care and cries for a minute or two after I shut the door. Then that's it until our next day of vacation!

Berkshires 2006 - Day 3

Today was the really rainy day so we went to MOCA - modern art, in North Adams. We could tell from the start that Shara wasn't a happy camper today. Something was off and we weren't sure if it was lack of sleep, overstimulation, not enough running around, etc. We had breakfast - mostly liquid, and headed out. The ride was about an hour and she mostly vegged. When we got there it was raining quite a bit and we had a little hike to the entrance. We looked around the shop, which she liked, and then got our tickets and from there only mommy could carry her. We did see much of what was there, but without reading any of the background of the exhibits, I had no real idea of what I was looking at. We had lunch in the cafe - sandwiches, though Shara's grilled cheese was really good, and then headed up to the Kidspace. Shara colored a bit and then we left. She did sleep most of the ride back and I even stopped at Guido's market for some provisions. When we got back she was in a much better mood and we played in the room, blew bubbles, watched a couple minutes of Finding Nemo on the laptop, walked baby in the stroller outside along the balcony, had a good snack - 1/2 soy butter & jelly and strawberries, so when she ate nothing but a few pieces of broccoli for supper, I didn't worry. Then she helped with the carpet sweeper and then got so hyper when Alan was getting her ready for bed we weren't sure what was happening. She finally settled down and we read Mother Goose and she went to bed with more protest. At the moment she's doing something in her room but we're not sure what. At least she's quiet. After today I told Alan that this isn't feeling much like a vacation! Hopefully she'll get a good night sleep and we'll lay low tomorrow. Just have to find some way for her to run around. Maybe we'll take the long trip to the mall - if it's raining, we're stuck inside. We should check out the pool, but if there are lots of big kids running around like this weekend, I don't think that will work too well.

Berkshires 2006 - Day 2

The next day we had breakfast in the room and then headed out to Hancock Shaker Village where they had baby animals and sheep shearing. It was a rainy day, but we heard that Sunday was going to be worse so we thought this would be the best day to go. Sunday was the last day to see the baby animals. We got there and it took us some time to get settled - we also stopped at a market (Price Chopper) to get diapers and other provisions - coffee, etc. So we didn't really get to the animals until close to 11AM. Shara was really good but she wanted to be held most of the time. I asked her if this was because I told her in the market that she needed to pay attention to were she was walking because there were people with carts who wouldn't see her, and that scared her so she didn't want to walk by herself. After we got that straightened out she didn't want to walk by herself because the baby animals scared her. She was really good though and quite happy. Considering how off schedule we were, she was great. We also saw sheep shearing and sheep herding - very cool. The sheep started running right for us and I had to explain that there was a fence in front of us so the sheep couldn't run into us. The best was the baby black sheep. He was so cute. I think his name was ronny. We had lunch at the village cafe, which worked out great - I thought they would be closed since it wasn't in season. I had a turkey sandwich and cup of chicken soup, Alan had a roast beef sandwich and Shara had a plate of macaroni & cheese, of which she ate 1/2. She didn't want anything I was eating and when I offered, kept saying, "mommy chicken" and "mommy turkey". At first I thought she was saying that she wanted mommy's, but she was saying for me to just eat my own lunch and let her eat her's!

On the way back we stopped for coffee and while I was gone - raining so Alan & Shara stayed in the car, she cried and cried for mommy. It was consistantly crying, but from what I'm told, enough. I got some brownies and a snickerdoodle for Shara and she actually didn't like it. She just played with it, "fed" some to baby, and made a "mess". When we got back to the unit she took a much protested nap that lasted for 3 hours - until I woke her up. I had gone out and exercised and Alan had a little nap and she slept and slept. Jill & Liz were going to be coming over after Liz's thing at Hampshire College so I wanted her to be up and ready before they got here. They came at about 5:30PM and we got going to Great Barrington to try and go to Bizen. Since it was raining still, and we couldn't find a close enough spot, Alan dropped us off in front and found a spot while we checked on a table. They had nothing at all! So we called Alan and he came and picked us back up and we went to the Barrington Brewery. Liz wasn't sure she'd be able to find anything, but when we looked at the menu, it was fine. They had some natural foods - no hormone beef, etc. They said about 15 minutes and we waited in the bar area. Shara watched the horses on TV and kept talking about the horses at the Hancock Village - she wanted to watch the horses more but when we were done with lunch they had already gone inside. We figured they were eating lunch and keeping dry - eating grass and hay. So when they had horse racing on in the bar, she was really happy. She also liked all the attention Aunt Jill and Liz were giving her. It was really fun and we all had a good time. I was so glad they were able to stop by. When we got back to the room it was already after 8PM and Shara just wanted to go to bed and did so without a whimper. Jill and Liz stayed a little while and we chatted and had some wine.

Berkshires 2006 - Day 1

Friday we left for the Berkshires at about noon, after lunch. The plan was to have Shara sleep on the way there, but that didn't happen. I thought that checkin was at 3PM, but it wasn't until 5PM so we went to Stockbridge and looked around. It was a gorgeous day and we went into a couple of stores - Shara really liked the old fashioned top, and then found a nice garden path near the library to walk around. Shara was hungry so we had a bar while strolling - she ate it like daddy - pulled down the wrapper and took bites. She was really, really cranky when we left and soon fell asleep - about 4:15PM. We got to the resort and checked in - good experience, but Maggie, what's with all the country music? So basically I stayed in the car while Alan walked the suitcase up to our room and I took the opportunity for some exercise and brought up most of the other stuff. Shara woke after about an hour and then I went out and got pizza in Great Barrington. She was ok after I left and Alan and her had a great time playing in the room. She actually ate really well for it being so late. She had a tough time getting to sleep - at first it was genuine, probably the newness and we never stayed somewhere else where she had her own room, but after a time she was playing us good! She slept well - didn't hear a peep until morning, and so did we. Our unit is really nice - right behind us is a babbling brook and we're in the end unit so it's really private.

Pasach @ Bubbe's

This was mommy & Shara's first solo trip and we had a great time. We missed daddy, but it was good for us to spend time alone together and visit with my family. It is sad that we don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like and they worry that Shara won't know them well.

She didn't show any signs of not knowing who they were! I picked her up from school after her lunch, and my meeting, and we had the discussion about going to Bubbe's, not home. Bubbe's, not home. Bubbe's, not home. Yes, Shara, Bubbe's, not home. She wasn't going to take her nap as easily as I had thought she would, and pitched a fit about the TV - Pooh. I had to pull over into a parking lot and put the TV on for her. She finally fell asleep and slept for about an hour. Not much of a nap, but as soon as I gave in to the TV request, she was fine. Probably a control issue, or else she really wanted to watch Pooh bear. We got to Bubbe's nice and early. Shara was coached to say "Happy Pesach" - didn't take much since she repeats almost everything she hears, and spent some good time with her and Papa while trying to help her get ready for the Sedar.

Everyone arrived and Shara grew a little shy and wanted uppie, uppie, but sat great for the sedar - she started playing with her cups and then we gave her supper and she ate while we went through the ceremony. She really liked the matza and alke (matza ball). She ate a whole alke and tzimmis and kugel and anything else I'd put in front of her, or so it seemed. She was really hungry!

Bubbe thought the best thing was when she took Bubbe's hand, pointed out her ring, then grabbed my hand and said ring, match, while she brought them together. We started dinner and then she was pretty much done for the night and wanted to go to bed, so we did. She was starting to not be so well behaved - thowing her puzzle pieces, etc. She was ready to sleep and that was it! She didn't mind that there were people partying in the other room.

The next day we had breakfast with Bubbe & Papa. Lots of matza, cream cheese and jelly, eggs, and cheese. Shara ate up at the table like a big girl, just sitting in her booster seat. She used the tray for the sedar and it worked out best anyway, since she had somewhere to play with her cups. We then hung out for a bit - Bubbe gave Shara a great present - the "Some Babies" book. Aunt Jill & Aunt Susan came over to visit, which was so nice. The weather was great - warm & sunny, so we went for a walk around Bubbe's neighborhood and met some of her neighbors. We looked at birds in trees and walked down to the woods out back and crunched some leaves. We tried to eat some lunch while mom got packed to go and Shara happily ate another alke, but wasn't much into anything else. Aunt Jill fed her some of the "juice" from the alke (chicken soup).

Of course it's sad to leave and Aunt Susan seemed sad and turned it to mad, which she tends to do and which I didn't realize until she had left, so if Aunt Susan is reading this, we were sad too. It is difficult living so far away. If I wasn't working it would be another story, since I could easily drive a few hours every couple of weeks for an overnight, but that isn't possible and we're lucky we have a phone. Maybe we should look into getting a video camera for bubbe so we can talk over the Internet and see each other.

The ride home was uneventful. Shara went to sleep after about 15 minutes and didn't wake up until we hit 495. We stopped at Whole Foods and had a really fun time. They had lots of samples, which we took advantage of - tortilla chips, nice cheese (we bought some), whole wheat sourdough bread, blueberry poundcake, and, imagine this - a 365 version of an Oreo. Yes, Shara managed to eat a whole one and wanted more. I didn't have to break it up for her or anything. She cried and screamed for another, but I didn't give in and we still finished our shopping trip happy. We then ate some Panne Francaise on the way home. I'm teaching her well - buy bread and don't wait to get home to eat it!

Shara was really happy to see daddy. She had started talking about daddy in the morning and didn't really stop through the day. Daddy was really happy to see Shara (and mommy) too!

Baseball

Today we went to visit Katie, Kristin & Dave to go to their great playground. Katie wasn't her usual (at least to us) carefree self and didn't really want to play on the slides, swings, etc. so we took a walk over to the baseball field and sat in the bleachers and watched the Pop Warner kids play a pre-season game. We had a nice talk with one of the moms and the kids loved sitting and watching the game. We were all surprised it kept their interest for so long. I love that the park is in walking distance from their house. That's the big disadvantage to our neighborhood - no local park. Shara had a good time and got some good exercise on the walk but couldn't do the whole trip and wanted uppie, so mommy & daddy got good exercise too!

Kitchen - Finally

After months and months Shara's kitchen finally arrived. We changed our minds about getting the Little Tikes Interactive Kitchen and got a Kidscraft wooden one instead. Alan & I put it together while Shara was napping and we unvailed it when Uma & Jidor came to babysit while we went to Mistral for our belated Valentine's Day dinner. Shara was so thrilled. Every day when I pick her up from school and ask her what she's going to do when we get home, she answers, "Kitchen".



Thank you Uma & Jidor