Final Summer Hoorah

Even though this weekend is technically the end of summer, we concluded it a little early last weekend by spending it at the lake with our friends the Wagers and the Pedens.

From the time they could drag us out of bed to slather them in sunscreen til the last rays of the sun had disappeared and we then dragged them in to eat the kids lived in the water.

They slid

and swam


and tubed
Riley and Chase, the lake experts, showing everyone how it is done.

Greyson commandeered the jet ski for most of the weekend...

The definition of windblown hair.

They were even brave enough to try water skiing. Greyson actually got up the very first time and Quinn was so close to being able to do it. I am so proud of them for trying and doing so well the first time ever.


But I think the highlight for them was surfing with Daddy. I don't know how he did it, but Raif managed to not only get himself up on the surfboard but Greyson and Quinn as well. Oh, did they have fun surfing behind the boat with Daddy and I think Raif had fun with them too.



To say the kids were exhausted Sunday night would be an understatement but the cranky children Monday morning were well worth the weekend adventures. As always thanks to both sets of Wagers for hosting us! See you next year!

Treasured Family Heirloom

When I was a little girl (about 7 or 8 I think), my grandfather took a trip to Japan and China and returned with a beautiful kimono for me. I spent countless hours playing dress up in it and it was one of my most treasured possessions. When I outgrew it my mother thoughtfully stashed it away in her cedar chest. Earlier this year she took it out, cleaned it up and brought it to me so that once Quinn grew up a little bit I could give it to her. Right now it is way to big for her and so we are storing it in a closet upstairs.

Yesterday while Quinn was reading she happened to stumble upon the word kimono in her book. After helping her sound it out I went and showed her the kimono that was waiting for her when she got older and told her all about it, who had gotten it for me and how special it was and how excited I was that someday she would get to play in it.

With that childhood voice filled with wonder she said "Oh Mommy, it is beautiful and someday when I outgrow it can I give it to my little girl?"

My touching "Awwww" moment of thinking about my granddaughter wearing my special kimono was cut short by the next phrase that came out of Quinn's mouth just a mere seconds later...

"Or I could sell it and buy some toys."

Ouch. I am think perhaps I should bequeath my sentimental items to Greyson.

Getting to Know You - Greyson Style

Greyson brought home his first batch of school work today. It was filled with all sorts of activities designed to have the kids get to know each other. Here is an example - Greyson did a little cut and paste activity where he cut out different pictures representing things he likes and doesn't like and pasted them in the corresponding columns. I found out two very interesting things from this activity. The first being that my son likes a lot of different foods and second apparently he only dislikes one thing.....

Me, Myself and I

So today I sent Quinn off to her first day of Pre-K, leaving me alone in the house for the first time in 3 months.

Last week, when it was just Quinn and I, we would sit at lunch and I would tell her how lonely I was going to be eating all by myself. The statement was partly true, I am going to miss our lunch time chats but I can't deny that I am looking forward to some concentrated alone time to get some projects done without a million interruptions.

Well my sensitive soul took my comments to heart and decided that something needed to be done so that her Mom wouldn't be too lonely. This was her idea...


A self portrait taped right to the chair so as I ate I could look at it and it would be just like looking at her while I ate. "You can even talk to it," she informed me. I guess I won't be alone after all.

First Day of Pre-K

Slice of Americana

I would say either at the end of winter or the beginning of spring, I read Charlotte's Web to the kids over several nights. Of course, they both loved the book, but Quinn was overly fascinated by the concept of the fair. She asked a million questions about it non-stop for several days, including all about the ferris wheel. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, we have a car dealership off the highway on the way to school that has a ferris wheel out front (don't ask me why) so I could even give a real life example. All of this fair talk culminated in the obvious "Mommy, can we go to a fair?"

Absentmindedly, I said "Sure."

"Now?"

"Sorry, sweetie but fairs generally only take place at the end of summer right when school is starting up." And so there I left it, thinking she would forget about it over the next 6 months or so. And she didn't bring it up again until about two weeks ago.

"Mommy, summer is almost over and I am starting school soon."

"True."

"So it is time for the fair!!"

"Huh??"

"Remember, you said when summer was over and school was going to start that fairs happened. And you promised to take me on a ferris wheel. Remember???"

Well crap. I did didn't I? A promise is a promise so my search for a fair began. The nearest fair had happened the week earlier and so we had a slightly further drive to get out to the Wilson County Fair which is also slightly more rural, if you get my gist.

So here are some scenes from last nights escapade at the Wilson County Fair.

We toured all of the livestock (cows, bulls, and sheep) and watched some of the barrel racing.

The kids bled us dry riding overly expensive rides, but amazingly did them all by themselves because Raif and I weren't going to pay $3 to ride in that little car with them.

View from atop the Ferris Wheel.

And well, you can't go to fair and not go see the Demolition Derby, can you?? That is 30 minutes of my life I will never get back.


Here is my social commentary of the day. Want to know why we have an obesity problem in this country? Because people eat crap like this... Deep fried Twinkies and Snickers?? Chocolate covered bacon on a stick?? My arteries clogged up just looking at the signs.

And while this was probably not what I would have chosen to do with my Friday night the kids had a blast. On the way home Quinn told me that she wanted to go back next year and well since we know she won't forget I guess we will be heading to the Wilson County Fair next year.

Greyson's First Day of School 2011

Starting Over

Raising Greyson has never been easy.

Now obviously, I don't mean that in the he-is-a-rotten-mean-kid-we-should-lock-him-in-a-basement sort of way. But Raif and I have faced A LOT of difficult decisions regarding the boy that haven't been covered in that handy little handbook we got when we left Northside 6 years ago.

In February I went in for Greyson's parent-teacher conference to talk about how Greyson was doing. We went through all the pleasantries and hit the high points like he is the sweetest child (which is true, most of the time), he is an extremely hard worker and is quite the little social bee. All things I knew and was proud of him for. When we got to the areas to improve on Ms. Kay was honest, brutally honest, which I am thankful for.

Greyson was struggling with his fine motor skills. This didn't come as a shock. He has always struggled in this area which more than likely is a result of his brain bleed when he was in the NICU. What I didn't realize was how much it would affect his schoolwork. He was having a hard time keeping up during creative writing because it simply took him so long to form his letters. In math, when they were learning to add using their fingers to "add on." Greyson was concentrating so hard on putting 3 fingers out that he forgot that he was suppose to be adding as well. And finally he was having a hard time getting things done in a timely manner. They move at a faster pace in 1st grade she told me, he may struggle more there. And she left it at that.

I mulled the conversation over and over in my head and with Raif, who unfortunately had been out of town on business during the conference. What would be the best way to help him? And if my conversation with Ms. Kay wasn't enough, fate heaped some more on me when a couple days later Greyson came home from school in tears. The very last person, other than Greyson, had lost their first tooth. When was it going to be his turn? Why wasn't he losing teeth like everyone else? I tried to explain to him it was because he was the youngest boy in his class. He was only 5 while some of the other boys in his class had just turned 7 and everyone else was 6. They are going to have those things happen to them first because they are older. "I hate being the youngest kid in my class!" That was when it first popped into my head - maybe we should hold Greyson back in Kindergarten for another year. I met with some initial resistance from Raif but after we talked it through we agreed it was probably for the best. We talked with his teacher who as always was as honest as could be. She told us that he would probably do OK in first grade but he would have to work hard and probably struggle at first. Repeating a year would allow him to be a leader in the new class and let him hone those fine motor skills and organizational skills without the stress of having to learn new academic skills at the same time.

Of course, while all this was going on, Quinn was breezing her way through all the Kindergarten interviews and tests. Obviously, a decision to hold Greyson back meant that we couldn't start Quinn as having both of them in the same grade would be disastrous. So now we had to make not only the right decision for Greyson but Quinn as well. Ironically, we made our final choice, to hold Greyson back, the day that Quinn's acceptance letter arrived.

At the end of the day, we know that this is the right decision for Greyson. I just wish we had made it last year. If Greyson had been born on his due date he wouldn't have started Kindergarten until this year anyway. We had briefly contemplated a Pre-K program for him but didn't find any we really liked and decided we would let the admissions process answer that question for us. We were so proud of him for getting in because that meant he had caught up and in fact gone ahead of where he should be. I think we let pride get in the way of looking out for what was best for him. As Ms. Kay said, he is a hard worker. He has fought every day of his little life for life itself when he was an infant and then to walk when they said he couldn't and to do all those little things that don't come so naturally to him. I am so excited for a year when he can just sit back and say "I can already do this." I think he deserves a break.

So, you may ask, how is he handling this? He is doing great. He is excited to be one of the oldest boys in class and his teacher has told him that he gets to be the leader and show everyone how things are done in Kindergarten. So today we started over.

Ms. Saville's 2011 Kindergarten class at Registration Day.

Last year when they called his name to join his class up on stage he refused to go, clung to Raif for dear life and sobbed. Today he jumped up and swaggered up there with so much confidence that I was the one that teared up. He has come a long way in a year and I know that he is going to do so much more.

As for Quinn, after sending one child ahead before they were ready I think we also were pleased with our decision to hold her back as well. We have enrolled her in an advanced Pre-K program in Franklin a mere 10 minutes from BGA (yay for me and my much reduced daily bus route). I think having a new school to go to helped ease the disappointment of not going to BGA with her brother. It also helps that her BFF Jackie will be in her same class and will also be transitioning to BGA with her next year.

So there you have it, the Erims once again navigating through uncharted parenting water. You know when all this is said and done maybe I should write that handbook. What do you think??

Ship Life

So on top of all the ports of call, we had life on the ship, which I can't shake a stick at.

The kids LOVED the kid's club (kids only, you know) and we LOVED the kids club too (kids only, you know). I wish we could show you pictures of them at the Kid's Club but the ship was adamant that we not take pictures of the other kids, so you will have to use your imagination.

We had the wonderful food, now the tasty factor on the ship might have had something to do with the fact that I didn't have to cook for two weeks!!

The first night Greyson received a fruit cup in what he proudly declared "The Stanley Cup of Fruit." That boy has a one track mind.

Quinn proudly displaying her mountain of strawberry tops.

We also enjoyed the ship's on board amenities...

I will tell you that Greyson is smiling because he loves the water. Raif will insist that he is smiling because a top less girl just got out of the hot tub. Ahhh, Europe.


We also made some new friends...

You probably saw Evelyn in several of our photos. Greyson met her, along with her sister Jazlyn the 2nd day on board and they became fast friends. Evelyn and Jazlyn are from Singapore so now Greyson is not only a ladies man, but an international ladies man!

And of course, took advantage (at the request of a certain grandma) of the on board photography. And Nini, don't worry, there are already copies waiting for you when you arrive.

And Finally.......Venice

I think if you ask people if they could visit only one international city, which would it be my guess is a lot of people would say Venice.

The city is so rich in heritage and so unique - how many cities do you walk out of your front door and into the water (or actually hopefully your boat). The city is steeped in history and intrigue - the perfect place to end our vacation.

This was the first time we went to Venice so naturally we had to take a gondola ride...I mean it is Venice, that is what tourists do, take gondola rides.


After our ride and short tour through the city we left the kids in the capable hands of the grandparents and went off on our own. As this was our last stop of the cruise, the ship was docked overnight and therefore we had a whole entire night without having any worry about getting back on board before the ship set sail.

For two people who never get a night out sans children, the fact that we had a date night....in Venice. Well, we were giddier than kids on Christmas Eve.

We left the kids with the parents at 3:30 and our reservations weren't until 7:30 (more on that later) which left us 4 hours to explore.

We visited the touristy spots like Piazzo San Marco...


And the Grand Canal...


But we spent most of our time just exploring the city and getting completely lost. We left the tourist section and wound through small alleyways that left me wondering if Jack The Ripper was about to pop out.

But at the end, we would inevitably find a small piazzo with kids playing soccer or a small artisan's shop where they made blown glass or hand painted Venetian masks. We stopped at a small bistro to have a spritz, a Venetian cocktail and wandered in and out of shops no bigger than my kitchen, some of them with ceilings so low Raif looked like a hunchback. Not a bad way to spend a date night (though I will say that Venice is NOT a city you should explore in kitten heels - ouch did my feet hurt).

Once we had explored a shopped it was time for dinner....ah dinner.

Anyone who has spent any time with Raif and I quickly learns one thing...we love good food. When I found out that we got to spend the night in Venice and after I convinced my parents that they wanted to babysit I knew that I had to find a SPECTACULAR place for our Venice date. Luckily, a high school friend of mine, Shilpa, moved to Italy awhile back (Lucca to be precise - ironically she was visiting her parents in KS when I was in Lucca - go figure). I e-mailed her hoping she might have been to Venice and could give me some recommendations. Not only had she been there but was friends with a Venetian who knew all the good places to eat. I learned that you should NEVER eat anywhere near the tourist sections as they have food geared toward us pesky Americans and even have two separate menus - one for tourists and one for Venetians, with the 'tourista menu' charging us gullible tourists double for the same food. She steered us definitely off the beaten path to a little bistro called Osteria da Fiore, a Michelin starred restaurant.

(This is what I mean when I say off the beaten path. See that little light on the left. That is the entrance to the restaurant. We walked by it at first not even noticing it. I think the entire restaurant maybe had 15 tables in it.)
The balcony of the restaurant overlooking the canal.

View from our table...not bad huh. We even watched a gondola float by once or twice.

She even went the extra mile for us and called and booked the reservation, since I don't speak Italian and requested their most romantic table**. When I say Shilpa came through....Wow, it was honestly one of the best meals we have ever eaten: we had an amuse bouche consisting of gazpacho with octopus. For an appetizer Raif had tuna carpaccio and I had shrimp with a brilliant tomato sorbet. For our entree we had shared a shrimp risotto with herbs from the chef's own personal garden. And finally we had a frozen zabaglioine that was so good, it was all I could do to hold myself back from actually licking the plate. An amazing meal, an amazing night and the perfect way to end our trip.

**Funny side note: There were only 2 tables on the balcony overlooking the canal. When we got there another couple (Australian and French) were sitting at the other table. Once we were seated, they asked us how long ago we had made our reservations. Apparently, when they were seated they had asked if they could switch to our table, the only one where both people got to look out over the canal. The maitre d' kindly informed them that ours was the best table in the house and needed to be booked at least 3 months in advance. Yeah, scoring the best table in the best restaurant in Venice - that's just how we Erim's role (thanks Shilpa!!). Though I will say my cool cache lost a bit of it's luster as I whipped out my camera and started playing tourist and taking pictures of everything in sight.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Again, I am a bit embarrassed of my lack of European education but I literally knew nothing about Croatia before I entered the country two weeks ago. I of course, like everyone else, knew the name through listening to reports back in the day of the war between Croatia and Serbia, but that was pretty much it. I honestly, did not know what to expect when we got to Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is a beautiful city, and Old Town, is a site to behold. It is one of the few cities whose original walls (Dubrovnik's date back to the 6th century) are still completely intact. What that means is that the Old Town has pretty much been kept as it originally was. The new has not encroached on the old so to speak. In Rome you can find a 12th century building next to one from the 19th century which leads to unique hodgepodge of architectural styles but Old Town really gave a feel of architectural continuity, much more than any other place we visited.

We started the day taking a cable car up to the top of Mt. Srd to get a panoramic view of the city, Old Town in particular.


After that is was a laid back morning and afternoon of exploring the city on our own. Our day was cut short unfortunately by a rain storm, the only bad weather we had all trip so I can't complain.

We stopped for lunch at this little outdoor bistro where Raif had some Croatian beer, which was quite tasty.

Greyson and Raif split this enormous seafood platter which had every type of food from the sea. They gorged on mussels, fish, shrimp (with the heads on which kind of took Greyson a bit by surprise), octopus and even more that I can't remember. And my little man ate it all with glee. And as we were leaving we watched fishermen come in with live fish and dump them into the tank right next to our table where not more than 20 minutes ago they had taken fish out for our lunch. I don't know when we have had fresher seafood. Yum!!

For cultural significance, Dubrovnik was lacking compared to some of the other places we visited. But the city has some wonderful architecture, amazing seafood, and warm friendly people. It is definitely worth the visit, you know the next time you happen to be around the Eastern coast of the Adriatic!