Toe Up, From the Flo' Up

Today, I'm casting on again for the two at once, toe up socks. I attempted them once before, but I didn't have the patience or the mad skillz. Now I've made several pairs of socks in a row, and I feel like I'm ready to try a more difficult, or advanced, method. Sorry I have no pictures, my camera is kaput. The picture provided is from annejeneer's project of the same pattern on ravelry.

On another note, J has been on vacation since the beginning of June, and doesn't have to be back to work until the 17th. I've felt so luxe having help with the bedtime routine every night, loading and unloading the dishwasher and general wrangling of the kids. It's also a big reason why I've had so much time to knit over the last week, but haven't been posting very often.

In the grand new tradition of the staycation, we've been relaxing and enjoying New England while sleeping in our own little beds each night. We made the trek to New Hampshire to visit Storyland on the day that Curious George, Arthur and Wyatt (from Super Why) were there as part of New Hampshire Public Television day, and we went to The Cape on Monday.

Storyland was really fun, and I recommend it for families with little kids. Charlie was probably technically able to ride some of the "toddler" rides as the requirement is that you can walk, but neither of us felt comfortable with it, so a lot of the day was spent with Charlie and I waiting while Daddy and H rode rides.

I had the brief pity-party when I'd asked H to join me on the third of the three rides that I'd be able to (a notorious nausea girl, I'm fairly limited at theme parks) only to be turned down. I looked at J, and pouted "I better get used to it, being the solo gargoyle, I'll have lots of things I want to do that nobody will do with me." Taking it in stride, he assured me H would ride the rides I wanted to, but was just fixated on the pictures of rides he'd seen on the map earlier.

Sure enough, by the end of the day, I'd ridden the Polar Coaster and Bamboo Shoots with a squealing H.

The Cape was great, we went to Surf Drive beach in Falmouth, which I'd been to once before. It was fairly empty, and the parking lot is right on the beach so it's great for trekking to and from the car. H and I flew his kite, while J walked around with Charlie. After Charlie ingested his portion of sand and seaweed, I put him in the jogger and laid on the blanket reading Fourth Comings while H gathered rocks and sand in his bucket, staying a safe distance from the water.

I had been really worried about taking both kids to the beach, but H has mellowed so much since his last beach trip it made me realize it will be fine, and actually enjoyable to repeat the trip to beaches throughout Mass all summer long. We'll be heading back on Sunday, to a more sandy beach, as Surf Drive beach is fairly rocky. We may even take the ferry on over to Mahtha's Vineyard.

After playing at the beach, we headed over to Seafood Sam's to get some dinner before the quick trip back to Central Mass (really, it's just over an hour...why am I not at the Cape more?!). J got a beer, so I was inspired to try a glass of their wine. Yeah, I don't recommend it. Barefoot Wines is one I would not buy again...it was a hop, sip and a spit away from Two Buck Chuck. They served me my mini bottle of wine with the screw top already removed and a plastic cup balanced on top. I should have known then that it was not going to end well.

As H played race car on the table with the lobster shaped paging device that would let us know when our food was ready I repeatedly admonished him to keep it away from my glass because I just knew that he'd knock it over.

Turns out, that honor would be all my own as I bumped it with my elbow while trying to cut Charlie's grilled cheese. Sweet. A lap-ful of crappy Merlot. I couldn't wait to get pulled over and try to explain the offending odor to the officer. I was secretly relieved that I wouldn't have to finish the wine (it's rare that I don't want to), only to have to plaster on a smile when the waitress brought me a replacement. It was genuinely nice of her to do so, because it wasn't the fault of the restaurant that I spilled it (although it is their fault that it tasted like battery acid). My calamari was very bland and the wine was, well, gross. J had a beautiful platter of baked seafood, and the kids' dinners were great, so I took a deep breath and wiped the pout off my face so that I didn't ruin a perfectly nice day. (If I had it to do over, I'd have taken Jared up on his offer to get the baked seafood platter for two, instead of for one.)

As we drove off into the sunset I took one last deep breath of salty sea air, and then it was over the Bourne bridge we went.

In case you're wondering the big factor in deciding to forgo a hotel in favor of returning home each night...Have you tried to have relations with your spouse while your kids slumber in a pack-n-play by the bed? Me too. And it doesn't work.