Irene

We were in Tivoli for Irene, thinking it would be safer than Jersey as 45 mile an hour winds were predicted for Sunday. So Chris came up Saturday afternoon and we waited out the storm at Gigi and Grandad's. Tivoli lost power around 7 a.m. on Sunday and never got it back while we were there. Sunday was fairly uneventful for most of the day -- windy and rainy in the morning, but we played and hung out by daylight and candlelight. We were able to cook because G & G have a gas stove, so that was good. By late afternoon it seemed clearer, so we went out for a walk and found that the lane was flooded on one side, so we had to go back around on a very wooded road to get to the house from the other direction. This proved difficult when we returned from dinner in Red Hook, which did have power, and found a huge tree down in our way. We tried another approach, but more trees down, and the wind had picked up. I did get nervous when we went back to our original approach and the rather blustery construction guy who was helping clear the road said that he had seen 6 or 8 large trees come down on the road and there we were with our car and our babies in it!! We hightailed it out of there and waited at Matt and Christine's til the road was clear and then got home as quickly as we could, but in total darkness by then because there was still no power and we hadn't brought flashlights with us, thinking we'd be back from dinner before dark. We figured it all out, though, and amazingly the girls went to sleep fine and slept through the night.

Here we are at our impromptu hurricane party at Christine and Matt's:





Monday we drove back and made it home to South Orange safe and sound. The only glitch was that it took 8 hours rather than 2 with various road closings! Eventually we drove out to Pennsylvania and came back to NJ from there. Thank goodness Chris knows the road so well -- he didn't even need to look at a map. When we got home our house had power and water, and no flooding in the basement or elsewhere, so we feel very lucky. A few neighbors were not so fortunate, and Maplewood (the next town over) still doesn't have water, so we are counting our blessings.

Vacation in Tivoli 2011

After 5 weeks in South Orange, we headed up to Tivoli for a 3 week vacation at our house plus another week for me and the girls with my parents (thanks for hosting us Gigi and Grandad!). Fer and Wendy once again showed their amazing flexibility in enjoying 3 more camps in the Hudson Valley, bringing the camp total for the summer up to 6! They spent a week at the Dutchess Arts Camp in Red Hook with their good friends Apple and Milli where they painted, drummed, tie-dyed, acted, sang, made paper, and generally took part in all things artistic. Next, they went on to Camp Seewackamano, a YMCA day camp in the Catskills that was pretty much a total gamble, but true to form, they had a great time in a totally new and very outdoorsy setting with fishing, boating, hunting newts, swimming, drama, arts and crafts, and even a one-night sleepover! They had to ride a school bus to get to camp which they found very exciting, and made good friends with two little girls who were assigned to the same bus stop. We are so thankful for their counselor Tori, who was apparently the loudest and silliest of the bunch and who made their time there so much fun. We finished up camp experiences in Tivoli with four days at the Pottery Shack in Rhinebeck, where they were able to choose and paint different ceramic items. Wendy chose a dog cookie jar for treats for the dogs and also made a mug for me which of course warmed my heart, and Fer did a beautiful vase with carefully drawn polka dots and butterflies (as she said proudly, "I'm taking my time!"), as well as 2 small jewelry boxes. We finished up our vacation in Tivoli with some fun times at the Dutchess County Fair!














While the girls were enjoying all that camp life had to offer, Chris and I were very busy packing up our Tivoli house for rental. It's amazing how much there is to do when every single item in the house needs to be considered and disposed of, whether moved to South Orange, stored, or thrown away. Grandpa Jack and Grandma Deb came down for 3 days and helped us enormously by moving some loads to South Orange in their pickup truck (thanks so much again!!), and Chris and I did several trips on our own as well while the girls were in camp, moving loads and unpacking boxes at the house in South Orange. It's done now, and the tenants have moved in, and the house has definitely taken on a college vibe, complete with spare tire in the driveway and beer bottles on the porch! We will get the house back at the end of May to use next summer, and one great thing will be that we will definitely start off with a clean slate as far as stuff.

We also really enjoyed having the Cannings come to visit us in Tivoli for a long weekend. Patricia stayed on an extra day with her girls and we had the chance to host a tea party, do some back to school shopping, and visit Hyde Park and learn a bit about FDR, complete with some dress-up time.






And, the big excitement this past Monday was the birth of my niece Daphne Rebecca! It was a great birthday present for me, and we are so thankful that the birth went well and that she is so healthy (and beautiful, if an objective aunt may say so!). The girls are so excited for their new cousin! They had a chance to meet her in the hospital, and are looking forward to more visits before we head home to South Orange.

While we waited for news from the hospital, we had a small birthday dinner for me with Gigi and Grandad and big brother Jack.







The girls and I meet Daphne:




Now we count down to 3 more days in Tivoli, then another week in South Orange, and then the girls start school!

Again, pictures to come. I have lots of them on my camera, and also a new computer, so I am going to get some help next week transferring and organizing them all and then do one big upload. Happy rest of the summer, everyone!

Summer in South Orange 2011 Photos

Fun with new and old friends:











Mini-golf with Papi, up a tree with Abby:





A puppet show at the library:




Abby's princess-for-a-day birthday party:






Enjoying the town pool:

Summer in South Orange

Pictures to come, as I don't have my photo cord with me, but I'm happy to report that we are having a great summer in South Orange! Fer and Wendy attended a 4 week summer ESL program at their new school, took a 2-week karate class, and this week are going to a weeklong art camp with a good friend. In between, they enjoyed time with old and new friends at the town pool and on our block, swimming and bike riding and generally running around and playing. For someone who didn't drive for almost 20 years, I have to pat myself on the back a bit that with the help of my Mother's Day GPS system, I have piloted myself successfully around town and everywhere I have needed to go. Haven't tried NJ highways yet, but I'm sure that's in my future, and for now, I'm doing very well on all the town roads and byways.

We are blessed in our new life with wonderful neighbors and friends who have been so kind and supportive as we have made this transition to from city to suburb. As my mother keeps pointing out, moving can be lonely and stressful, and while this move has at times been the latter, it has certainly not been the former. I don't know what the Universe is trying to tell me but we have had two days of significant key issues, one when Chris took the only car keys into the city and left us without transportation for the day, and the other when I grabbed car keys instead of house keys and walked out to walk the dogs, realizing my mistake as I slammed the door behind me. In both cases, our friends helped us out, on the one day shuttling the girls to camp and karate and me to where I needed to go, and on the other, providing me with a safe haven and soothing cup of tea as I made phone calls to try to track down our contractor who has a key and who finally came to let me back in.

We do continue to have some challenging times at home, but considering the transitions the girls have had to make in their lives, they have adapted incredibly well. They are making new friends, enjoying the different activities, reading lots of books for the summer reading program at the library, and overall are having a really good summer. We feel very grateful and blessed.

Goodbye New York, Hello New Jersey!

Today is my last day of work at KIPP after 8 years!! It's really hard to believe. I've had some days of tears and panic in the last few weeks, but today I just feel right about it. It's time to focus on home and family for a while, and while I have loved my time with the KIPPsters big and small, this past year has been a year of running between commitments and often feeling torn and inadequate to do everything as well or as much as I would like. I know that's the story of so many working moms, and I do feel blessed to be able to have this time.

And, tomorrow the packers come and Friday the movers come to take us to our new home in New Jersey! We are really looking forward to the move -- our block is like Norman Rockwell with diversity, and we have all already met and begun friendships with some wonderful neighbors. There has been some stress in recent days over choosing tile and paint colors etc. (a very privileged problem to have, I know, but with my visual memory issues, I am just horrible at it!) but I know we are going to be so much more comfortable and happy with a bit more space and green and a lot more community. We have had more good times in the last 6 weeks with our new neighbors than in the last 6 years with our neighbors in Riverdale!

So, hopefully part of my new life will be somewhat more frequent posting on this blog. This winter/spring has had its hard times, but we have come out stronger for it and with a better understanding of both girls' needs. We feel so fortunate that Fer and Wendy are now doing so well and that they finished their school year with such a positive attitude and such great results of their hard work.

When I was a kid and we used to visit my dad's sister in Pennsylvania, we would always sing as we crossed the George Washington Bridge, "goodbye New York, hello New Jersey" over and over again until we got to the other side. We will be singing that song with new meaning in just 2 days!!

Thank You St. Peter's!

Today was the girls' last day of the school year at St. Peter's. They ended the year on a high note, with Fer receiving first honors and Wendy receiving second honors, and both of them receiving perfect attendance awards as well. I was able to attend the awards Mass yesterday and loved watching them receive their certificates. Father Joseph, whom I will really miss, preached a great kid-friendly sermon about the idea that prayer means change. His homework assignment for the summer? "Read and pray!" We'll definitely try. And today the girls said good-bye to their teachers and friends. We have been so blessed with a wonderful trio of teachers who saw them through their first year plus in the United States -- Mrs. Harding, who taught Fer for the last part of last year and Wendy all of this year in second grade, Mrs. Guerra, who tutored Wendy last spring and taught Fer for much of this year once she returned from maternity leave, and Mrs. Zamora, who tutored Fer last spring and both girls all this year. There were some tears all around as we said good-bye. We will certainly plan to come back and visit next year.