the pieces of my life

Tomorrow Doodles and Adam are going to a Red Sox game, so Pie and I are having a Mommy-Daughter day (Pie was given the option of a Red Sox game or lunch with me, and she chose lunch with me). In the morning, the two of us are going together to do some volunteer work. But after, we can do whatever we like.

Me: I’ve been thinking about our day tomorrow. I have two choices that I think you might like: We could have lunch in Harvard Square and then watch the Dragon Boat Races on the Charles or we could go to the art museum. We could have lunch in the cafe there.
Pie: Dragon boats like on Kai-Lan?
Me: Um, not sure. Maybe.
Pie: I want to go to the art museum!
Me: That sounds great! We’ll do that.
Pie [in a confused tone]: So, are we going to New York tomorrow?
Me: No. We won’t go to New York till school gets out for the year.
Pie: But you said we could go to the art museum tomorrow!

It takes me a minute, but then I get it.

Me: No, Pie. Did you know that there are actually art museums in Boston?
Pie: There are?!?

Oops. Somehow, it’s always seemed easier to hop in the car for a 3 1/2 hour drive to NYC to go to the Met than it’s been to hop a T into town. Do you think maybe it’s time for me to start exploring my own city with the kids? At the rate we’re going, they’re going to think that Boston is a suburb of New York. Well, a suburb with a superior baseball team. At least, according to their father.

(All of this is from last Friday)

Pie had pizza, salad, and a whoopie pie last night. Oddly enough, it was apparently the salad that gave her a stomach ache.

***

I have my own name plate and name tag for Adam’s HBS 5 year reunion, in case I want to go to any academic presentations. The boy came in this morning wearing my name tag. “Monkey boy,” he said to me, “you need to get ready for school!”

“Huh?” I said.

“Look,” he said, pointing to his tag. “I’m Jenny Brown. Get ready for school!”

I laughed. “You, Mom, need to go drink your smoothie!”

He smiled sweetly and said to me, “Sorry, but you can’t direct me, honey!”

***

Adam took twenty minutes to decide what to wear to the reunion academic presentations today. “Can I wear jeans? Kevin’s dressed nicer. I should dress nicer. Should I wear khakis? I guess I’ll wear khakis. I feel so funny wearing khakis these days. Maybe I should wear nice jeans? I’ll wear the khakis.” He puts on the khakis and a blue-and-white shirt. “Maybe I’ll wear this tonight,” he says, at which point I told him I had enough and he wasn’t wearing a blue shirt and khakis to a friggin’ cocktail party if I had to wear a freakin’ cocktail dress. And then he told me to chill. And then I reminded him that all these events are optional for me and he quickly backed down.

***

Doodles announced that he wanted to go to the hardware store.

Me: What for?
Doodles: I need stuff for my invention.
Me: What do you need.
Doodles: Just plastic and wood.
Me: Nothing else?
Doodles: That’s it.
Me: Do you have a plan for what you want to build?
Doodles: It’s all in my head.
Me: What is it?
Doodles: I’m going to build something special! It’s going to be a babysitting machine! And I’m going to make robots and they’ll watch the kids. And then I’m going to make these helicopters the robots will use!
Me: Oh?
Doodles: Yeah! So can we go get my wood and plastic now?

The boy definitely had fun. Maybe too much fun. He's absolutely walking funny and it occurs to us it's been hours since he peed. Oops…

In the old days I couldn't make the tea cups at Disney spin fast enough. Now one ride on the Cuckoo Clockenspiel and am ready to puke. Aging at its ugliest.

Doodles said on the Twirling Turtles–as we're whipped around at top speed and his friend exclaims, "My stomach is all the way in my chest!"– "I don't know how Dad can not like this!" Um, I might have an idea.

The Italian sausage and ice cream with sausages just after the Twirling Turtles and right before the Teacups may have been a mistake. Just sayin'.

Spotty service is foiling my posting plans. Doodles has two friends here, both girls, and they're fighting over who gets to sit next to him. Hope he doesn't get used to it. I took the kids on the Krazy Barn. Now I'm Krazy Nauseous. Ready to watch the freaky cats at the Hannaford Circus. Do you wish you were me?