From Thursday

Home again, home again, with a blissful 54 mbs wireless speed.

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Thursday, March 6

I drove from our hotel in New Rochelle to the Bronx on Wednesday. I dislike driving with no copilot surrounded by crazy people with no break down lanes WHILE navigating with a Google Map ("was that 0.8 miles before the next turn or 1.8?") Thankfully, I did fine, even when encountering cars backing up an on-ramp at 45 mph because they didn't want to get caught in a traffic jam on the parkway. (The parkway backup, by the way, was because an 18-wheeler was too tall to fit under the bridge it tried to go under at 55 mph. It was on its side blocking two lanes of traffic. That must have been quite the spectacle.) Who backs up a one-way on-ramp with traffic hurtling towards them? New York City drivers. I had the kids in the car with me, and they were strapped into their convertible car seats so tightly that I suspect neither could take a deep breath with ease. I learned how to drive in Boston; I am no naive bumpkin. However, I think New Yorkers are crazier than us.

I had a lovely visit in the Bronx with my sister's partner's mother. She has a nice little apartment that is arranged to maximize her space. This means that 1/3 of her belongings are below thigh level = at Pequita's eye level, and ripe for Monito to pull up to and grab. My little marauders. Luckily, there were enough toys and a park across the street with at train-shaped jungle gym that the only damage was a little mud on the beige carpet, a few plant leaves ripped apart, and one broken vase. It was a welcome change from hotel amusements, since it was still rainy and windy. Plus, two rides across town = two naps. The twenty minute drive took me an hour on the way over, and only 25 minutes on the return. I am super once I have navigated a route once, but the first time anywhere can be hard.

I chatted with my mom while the babes slept for an hour in the hotel parking lot. She's planning quite the little shindig around my nephew's birthday weekend after next, since we will also be there. Perfect grandbaby showing-off time, and more power to her since we made her wait as long as we did. It will be Monito's first meet-and-greet with most folks, and I'm looking forward to showing him off a bit, even with the scab on his nose that learning to walk keeps renewing.

We are heading home today, and it has actually been a lovely trip. A little too over stimulating for all of us, though, so our relatively quiet Homestead will be welcome. Homestead Mama's training ends at 3pm. Late checkout is at 1pm. She is 15 minutes away, and only gets 45 minutes for lunch. This feels like a math word problem: How much time will it take a single adult to load 9 bags into a Volvo station wagon with two babies, a double stroller, and a small elevator? 5 extra points if you can figure out how to get in the regular naps at 10:30 am and noon. 25 extra points if you can figure out how to guard the car, which will inevitably have the huge toys given to us by our friends here in New Rochelle, strapped to the roof rack, for two hours while keeping the children happy. My guess? I'll be hunkered down in the penthouse sitting area enjoying the expanse of carpeting with all the walkers, ball poppers and riding hippo toys and wait for H-mama to help me finish loading. Admit it. You wish you could be me for the next several hours.

Update: (Since I cannot get online with the generous 1 mps that the free wireless is averaging today, this could be a long post.) Monito went down for 45 minutes at 10 am, Pequita cried and nursed to sleep at 11am after bonking her nose twice in as many minutes. There will be no early packing of the car.