Running Away To Join The Circus

One of my favorite blogs to read is Mommy's Martini, not ONLY for the name itself (though that would be enough) but for many and varied other reasons as well. This week there is a chance to win some tickets to Ringling Bros. circus if we blog about our kids' ideas regarding the big top. Christopher and I have been talking about bringing the kids to Ringling Bros. for the first time, since it's in our area the week of Colin's 5th birthday in November. So, as fate would have it, we're feeling a little lucky like we have a chance of winning this (random) contest. Thus far, the only circus the boys really remember is a shoddy traveling production that makes the rounds here every year, consisting of mangy animals (and the requisite cruelty-to-animal protesters at the gates), out of shape aerial performers, a lackluster dog show and one lonely elephant and horse. Oh, and Lucco the clown, or "The Italian clown" as Colin is wont to call him. This year, Chris took the bigger boys and they had fun... albeit the generator died part-way through the first act and they had just as much fun hitting a tennis ball around the nearby courts until two pick-up trucks pointed their headlights into the tent so the performers could wrap it up and call it an early night. The good news is: it doesn't take much to entertain and amaze our boys. The bad news is: they don't know the extent of magic that a "real" circus can provide to a young tot. We'll be crossing our fingers that they'll soon find out--in person!

Ringmaster Colin's pictorial view of the Circus. Clockwise from top left: "A dog show"; "A Clown with huge shoes"; "a Jumping Horse"; "an Elephant" (trunk on left, tail on right, he pleads with me to add); "a box of Popcorn" and "A Light-up Sword" (both items that Daddy did NOT buy for him at the local circus event, but he's hoping that next time we bring "enough money to get tickets AND treats.") Not bad for a 4 year old. In my biased opinion. I asked Liam to draw what he liked about the circus, to which he replied: "I like the clowns. But Colin draws better than me, ask him to do it". He's a born manager, this kid--even at age 3.

Applefest

We had our traditional apple-picking adventure last weekend which was a lot of fun. Good friends, good food, apple pie, cheese and wine (and not too much whine). What's not to love?

Colin, Liam and Sam twirling before we got started.

Eamon actually kept climbing INTO the wagon. He is super into buckling right now and will buckle and unbuckle ad nauseum for hours.

Colin was proud he could shimmy up a little this year.

Liam and Sam found a gargantuan fuzzy caterpillar in the orchard.

He's a good worker, this one.

And HE'S a good eater!

To the victor go the spoils.

Finn and Harry's birthday party topped out a great weekend. Eamon and Daddy cuddling on the couch.

Eamon stole the arrows from Harry's set and wielded them with glee. Thankfully they're nurf.

Colin loads his weapon of choice.

I'd be a little more nervous looking down Liam's pistol barrel if his smile wasn't so cute!

Colin and his Doppelganger. He came home from school with this treasure last week. I was impressed by his very realistic replica, down to the bugs on his shirt and the N on his New Balance sneakers!

Overscheduled

We're very light on pictures from last week as mostly I just did the Driving Dance: preschool drop-off, pick up, off to tennis lessons, switch off, pick up, drop-off, work, switch off, pick up, drop-off, work... I should start blogging the weeks purely in miles. The boys are loving school, I'm enjoying having more "one-on-two" time with them (as Eamon is still a force to be reckoned with) and work hasn't killed me yet, though it has left us all with colds. I think we're finally settling into the new schedule. The boys made up for the lack of photos with some artwork so here it is.

Liam found a great rock while we were out walking and, being Liam, threw it with all his might on the road where it split exactly in half. He loved it all the more then and thought it looked just like two footprints (Colin thought it looked like lungs!) and proceeded to make fingerpaint prints with them.

Liam made a portrait of me at school.

And Colin made a portrait of himself.

Because being home with Mom is way more boring than school, the boys are always trying to find some new games to play. "We have no good toys or games" Colin tells me from the playroom, where one can barely walk amid the legions of all the apparently crappy toys and games. I told them to make up their own game. Which they nicely did: "Shield Ball" with a Ben&Jerry's ball and the lid to a trashcan. Fun was had by all and actually, for once, nothing got broken.

Colin brought home an ancient Elmo spinning light from Grammy's that he got back when he was 1 and we brought him to see Elmo. "Look!", he said, crouched down on the kitchen floor, "it's a ceiling fan for a mouse!"

Some more great quotes from the week:

Colin: "Uh, mom, why doesn't Curious George have a tail? I thought monkeys need tails to swing from trees?"
Me: "He must."
Colin, providing picture from book: "See?"

Me: "Um, yeah, well... I dunno". If I didn't think he was actually testing me to see if I knew about prehensile appendages, I would have tried to come up with something. But let's face it, he's smarter than me.




Liam, was playing with Eamon's baby baseball toy which cheered for him after a good hit: "You got a double!"

Liam: "Mom, I got a devil! Just like Eamon is!!

Labor Day Leisure

Our last true days of summer ended on a high note. With a day of rest, a day of BBQs (and new shoes!) and a day of pure bliss, we were ready to start back-to-school week. We enjoyed going into the "city" for a party. However, I must say, as lovely as it was, and as much as we sometimes miss the cultured metropolitan life... I love our big back yard. And my ability to say, when the big boys get on my nerves (as they often do): "Go outside and play!" and have it be so simple.

Monday was literally the perfect day. Not a cloud in the sky, breezy enough to be comfortable and just hint that fall is coming. We took the boys out bike-riding which they loved, to the playground, to Calico and Creme for the very last day of home-made pie and icecream of the summer, and to Grammy's to swim. Who could ask for more?

On Tuesday my big boys went off to school. I was rather broken up about Liam going to his first day of preschool but he marched in with Daddy like a champ and didn't look back. Colin was thrilled to be back as well and as I drove him in and he asked what day it was, he exclaimed: "Good thing I'm going back to school after summer vacation, I forgot all the days of the week!" Liam is convinced that "MY Miss Linda" is his teacher while Colin has "HIS Miss Linda" and never the twain shall meet. I shudder to think what he'll do when he really grasps that "they" are one and the same.

The Boys. Dressed to kill for preschool orientation day. (It's also just easier to do a headcount when I know they are all dressed the same!)

King of the Playground.

Notice that the boys dress themselves. Colin for the weather. Liam, not so much.

What a difference a summer makes. In June Colin still had to use floaties, now he is officially a "swimmer" and loves to dive down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve things.

First Day of School!

Aww, they meet up at swap time. (Liam goes in the morning and Colin in the afternoon so all day I get to have only two boys at home which makes life extremely easy, you know, comparatively.)

Leah

What happens when The Cousins have too much time on their hands and too many boys to entertain...introducing.... Leah! Colleen and Amy didn't want to dress up but Leah was happy to oblige. And what a lovely little girl he is!!

You know it's Back-To-School time when...

Sandwiches sprout letters and numbers.

Apples sprout sprinkles.

The Schultüte crop is ready to harvest.

Apple cupcakes are full of book worms.

Batter-batter Baseball season comes to an end.

You find out your girlfriend has preschool on different days in September. Sob.

Your mom throws a back-to-school party!

Three Days: Eat, Drink, Repeat

"You say it's your birthday It's my birthday too - yeah They say it's your birthday We're gonna have a good time I'm glad it's your birthday Happy birthday to you."

-The Beatles

Well, my birthday was technically a bit over a month ago but sometimes gifts aren't always available when needed. In this case, Carrie and Meghan signed Matt and myself up for a cooking class at The Inn At Essex, Vermont:

"Prepare a three-course meal in our famous "Chef Inn Training" culinary class with Chef (Courtney) Contos. You will use fresh ingredients from our garden. The Inn's very own Horticulturist, Stephanie Solt, will be in the class preparing us for our garden tour and will be available for gardening questions."

Fun stuff! The prospect of prepping and cooking a meal (for the student chefs in training and two opportunistic, tag along spouses) in a professional test kitchen with fresh products from the kitchen garden and professional oversight and guidance was too much to ever consider saying no to. Oh, and the the Inn is part of the wonderful New England Culinary Institute (NECI).

So...we now have a reason for a road trip to VT for the weekend!

Day 0:

Thankfully, Carrie's parents were able to take the boys for the weekend while we escaped. Friday started with a little kids' back-to-school party at the house. Needing some quiet time for work, I left mid-way through the party for the Gardner Ale House in Gardner, MA as they have food, beer and free wireless access so I can work remotely. This being said, the weekend of food, beverages and repetition began close to home at the GAH with their very drinkable, Czech-alike pilsner (needs some Perle hops to crisp and bitter it up, IMO) and continued later with Berkshire Brewing Corp.'s Steel Rail Pale Ale (my absolute favorite summer beer).

Day 1:

Off to VT after some morning errands. First stop...Harpoon Brewery in Windsor,VT. I've been a big fan of Harpoon since I moved to MA 11 or so years ago. The Oktoberfests at their Boston location were always fun with friends and they make the single best IPA in the US. The Windsor brewery had some construction going on but that didn't stop and serving and tasting! The IPA is great, as I just stated, so I mostly veered away from it, instead going for a succession beginning with their cider, up to the Summer Ale, a gratuitous IPA and finally ending with their (wheat wine) Triticus.

Hmmm...time is getting tight so we'll have to put-off a trip to Long Trail Brewery until our descent back down the state. Off to the White River Junction area where I missed the Norwich Inn Brewery in Norwich,VT six weeks ago when I was at a conference at Dartmouth College. Lunch was straight-forward and not a complaint was to be heard in the gentrified, old inn. Around the table we had the following in both various tasting flights and pints: Whistling Pig Red Ale, Old Slipperyskin IPA, (I think) Jasper Murdock's ESB, Fuggle & Barleycorn and the (favorite) Famous Sidekick.

Holy Impreial Stout, Batman! We need to find our way to Essex, VT to begin cooking in 90 minutes!!!

OK, so it wasn't too difficult. We make it to the Inn at Essex 30 minutes before the class begins, check-in, freshen-up and find our way to The Tavern for a pre-prandial libation (or three). They didn't brew on the premises so, poor us, had to settle for Long Trail Brewery's Belgian White Ale while we waited (read more of this post for more info).

Matt and I assembled (pints in-hand) in the test kitchen and greet our instructors. Very casual, wonderfully pleasant chefs and class participants. There was a broad range of talent and experience in the room and we all came together as a group and prepared a three-course meal that did us proud:

• Nibbles of Grafton cheddar with smoked sea salt and habenero maple syrup along with crustini with local herbed chevre
• Panzanella with heirloom tomatoes, grilled shrimp, fresh mozzarella (and other yummies)
• Corn risotto with pan-seared scallops and roasted golden beets (and other yummies)
• Molten chocolate cake with lavender shortbread and pomegranite-infused vanilla ice cream (and other yummies)

It was a fun experience that you don't really get when you're cooking for family or for a specific party, even if you know how to follow the recipe you're given and know the techniques; it's just fun being in a good kitchen with good ingredients with like-minded people. We followed it all up with a (much-needed) walk after dinner and spent 90 minutes or so touring the ornamental and kitchen gardens and actually getting a much more technical education than the kitchen segment!

Husk cherries are really interesting to eat and jewel vine attracts bears...two useful things to remember.

So now we're fat, slow and happy for the night. What better to do than go back to the bed and breakfast we've taken rooms at. Wait...the same B&B owned by a Lithuanian, Olympic family? The same B&B on Rt. 7 just outside of Burlington,VT? The same B&B...yes, that Carrie and I shared our first weekend away at when she discovered the joys of Burlington for the first time. Selection of the B&B was a completely random event, I'm told (only place with rooms on UVM move-in weekend).

So how do we wrap-up a day of driving, eating, sipping, cooking and synchronicity? A few bottles of wine in front of the TV watching the Olympics and Iron Chef USA. Sigh...maybe we are getting old but I slept GREAT that night.

Day 2:

Yawn, stretch, argh...daylight. What is this strange, bright orb in the sky? Actually, the weather has been absolutely perfect. 80F or so, clear skies and no humidity. Oh yeah, we also just ate and drank ourselves to happy oblivion yesterday. Let's do it again today!!!

B&B breakfast was good for everyone except me (eggs Benedict and I can't stand eggs unless they're cooked to some rubbery form that allows them to be a vehicle for better tasting things).

I don't know everything but I remembered a few things about Burlington that I hoped hadn't changed. First off...right fine coffee and nibbles at Muddy Waters on Main St. in Burlington. I swear, this place is a close cousin of the great Coffee Exchange I loved when working in Providence, RI.

What's Burlington and the associated edge of Lake Champlain if you don't take a tourist/UVM parent stroll up and down Church St. in Burlington? Meghan bought Birkenstocks while Matt and I dreamed of more beer. Birkenstocks in-hand, beer was ready to be acquired!

Did someone say more beer? Right, that! A short stroll back to Vermont Pub and Brewery had us seated for another set of tasting flights and myself going straight for the two cask-drawn offerings - Dogbite ESB and Mick's Smoked Stout. We emerged, aware of our geographic location and with a vague sense of how long it would really take to get anywhere. Especially when we needed to visit the Magic Hat and Long Trail breweries on the way!

Magic Hat was nixed, sadly but understandably. I think we all tried to rationalize it in some way but suspect that we would have tried to do Magic Hat AND tried to do Long Trail. Especially when a trip to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream in Waterbury, VT for a factory tour and tastings were in order for the day.

As it was, finding Long Trail in Bridgewater Corners, VT was a feat when you don't really have directions or have conflicting directions. I point my finger at Meghan at this point but that's mainly because my BlackBerry died and I didn't have Google Maps (my god, what in the world has travel come to???) and her directions just "felt" wrong based on the previous day but she got us there in the end. Kudos to Meghan.

Long Trail Brewing...oh how I've loved thee. Your Long Trail Amber introduced me to VT brewing and I've never stopped loving you. The Hibernator and Double Bag got me through some special times and I was just as happy a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon your Belgian White. Oh my. Your food menu was standard pub grub but the flights of tasting brews were enjoyed by everyone and my new-found dedication to the Belgian White leave the food as a distant, unneeded memory.

So this is a great weekend and b-day gift, right? Yes, yes it is, if you're not following the box scores. I want just ONE last pint, however. We need to go through Greenfield, MA and I want to stop at The People's Pint. I haven't been here in years and it might totally disappoint me. I doubt it but it could happen. It opened the year I moved to western MA and was the only reason I would ever consider leaving my genteel existence in Northampton at the time for a pint of beer. Times have changed and the Amherst Ale House appears to have been replaced by a strip mall so I hold-out for a time when I can revisit the People's Pint and pretend I'm a decade younger and a decade more hip than now.

We didn't stop for a pint but I'm still thankful for a great weekend and was equally happy to see the boys and dog again after 36 long/short hours. Time to finish this post, have one last pint of Steel Rail and call it a night.