Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Biltmore

A few weeks ago, a lovely friend of ours gave us two free passes to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.We had never been there, so we decided to take a day trip the Saturday after Valentine's Day.  It ended up being a bitterly cold day! And the place was busy!  I was glad I had called ahead to make a tour reservation.
This is the view as you approach the house. George Vanderbilt built the house in the late 1800s as a mountain retreat from his hectic life in New York.  (Must be nice, eh?) It is the largest privately owned home in America with 250 rooms on about 8,000 acres. No photos allowed inside, of course.The interior tour took 2 hours and was really comparable to some of the castles we have visited in Europe- our kids did amazingly well and loved working their own audio guide controllers.

We had a lot of fun conversations about the house on our way home, and it was hard to choose a favorite room. Charlotte and I both loved seeing the kitchen, various pantries, pastry room, laundry, etc.  I guess just because they hit so close to what my daily life involves that it is difficult to imagine doing all of it without "modern" conveniences. Rob and I talked a lot about one room in the house that was set apart as a labor and delivery suite.  It had the most beautiful views and balconies... I would be quite happy in a room like that at the local hospital!  Toby liked the bowling alley and indoor pool (with underwater lighting! In the 1800s!)  But finally enough was enough and we headed out into the cold to explore the grounds.


I just love these kids.  Oh, and that handsome fella in the background, too.  :)
This is just outside the conservatory where we got to see beautiful exotic flowers blooming in February.

The gardens themselves are obviously not much to look at this time of year.  But I thought the gardener's cottage looked far more homey than the estate itself.  So, if we were transported back to Asheville in 1899, I would be campaigning for Rob to work as gardener there... and we could be like Anna and Bates (wee bit too much Downton Abbey in my system) and live in domestic bliss on the estate.  Except without all the drama and false imprisonment and such. And British accents. But otherwise, just like that.  :)

Thursday, February 21, 2013

car chat with Toby

I've always thought of Toby as a quiet little man, but since Charlotte has been in school I've had more one on one time with my little man and he has been talking my ear off.  Here are just two brief conversations from our time running errands yesterday, (as best I can reproduce them.)

Scene 1:
Me: Tobs, I'm sorry we're not going to be able to put the tent up this weekend to camp out, because it is going to rain.  Maybe next weekend.
Toby: Is it the weekend today?  Then why is Charlotte at school?
M: No, today is not the weekend.
T: Then maybe the rain will stop before the weekend.
M: No honey, it's not going to rain today, it's going to rain this weekend. Today is Wednesday, tomorrow is Thursday, and then it is Friday and that is the beginning of the weekend.
T: So we'll put the tent up on Friday.
M: Yes, but not THIS Friday, because it is going to rain.  But maybe next Friday.
T: Okay.... so we'll go camping this weekend.
M: Look!  A digger!

Scene 2:
Toby: Mom, you know what would be cool?
Me: What's that?
T: If we had a house with stairs in it that was on wheels and there was one driver downstairs and another driver upstairs.
M: That sounds like it would be very tricky to drive.
T: Well, there would be this cross thing that if one driver wanted to be in charge they could just pull it and then the other driver could take a rest and then they could pull it back when it was their turn. Wouldn't that be soooo cool?
M: It certainly would be something different.

A while later at home, I was looking at houses for rent on the computer and Toby ran up behind me and stated, "I like that one.  Is it on wheels?" 

Monday, February 18, 2013

lean, mean, eighteen

Okay, at 18 months old, Jakey is neither lean nor mean.  At his check-up earlier this week he was in the 90th percentile for weight and the 75th for height.  He's a lover not a fighter. When caught playing with Toby's toys, he takes off at a full speed run rather than try to fight with Toby over them.  I can't believe how quickly our baby bear has grown into a toddler.  He wants to do everything himself- including meal times....



Some things Jake loves:
being outdoors
Toby's Legos
his stuffed dog "Duplo"
playing the piano
singing- especially E-I-E-I-O (Old McDonald, obviously)
Mom- no joke, he is the biggest momma's boy I have ever seen, and I love it
food- any food, any time- he taps his highchair tray to say "right here"
brushing his teeth
"teeeeet!" (treats- like M&Ms or graham crackers)
helping with the laundry, dishes, or sweeping
climbing

Some things Jake does NOT love:
coloring (he eats the crayons)
sitting still
movies- they involve too much sitting still
reading- he's getting a little bit better about this if the book contains a tractor, digger, or dog, but again, this activity requires too much stillness for his liking
sitting in the car (do you see a trend here?)
hotel rooms - the last time we stayed in a hotel, I got zero sleep because Jake was completely freaked out all night
cold drinks (everything needs to be lukewarm)

I hope he doesn't start those terrible twos too soon!  Because we just adore this little guy.  :)

Bahama mamas

A few weeks ago my sister Pam called me and suggested we go on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas... and I laughed at her!  She is quite the persuasive talker though and after much encouragement from Rob I decided to go after all.  So last weekend I drove 10 hours to Miami to meet up with Pam and Leah (my niece) to go on a 3 day cruise.  There was a strict rule made about not taking swimsuit photos, and since we spent quite a bit of time in swimsuits, there aren't too many photos.

This is the ship we went on.  It is NOT the ship that had to be towed back to the US amid horrible turmoil- thankfully.

This is the view from my beach chair sitting on Junkanoo Beach.  I've never been to the Bahamas before and it turns out that, yes, the water really is that amazingly beautiful and you can see little fish swimming around your ankles.  We bought BBQ chicken and fried plantains from this hut on the beach... I thought it was pretty good, though fried plantains aren't going on our monthly menu anytime soon.  But Pam wasn't convinced it was really chicken, so I ate hers too. 

After an ice cream cone downtown, we spent the remainder of the afternoon in the Straw Market shopping for souvenirs. (One of us knows how to use sunscreen- and I, I mean she, is not pictured here.)

Oh look there I am!  Just one to show that I was in fact there.  ;)

The endless buffet on the cruise ship was not thrilling. But dinner each night was actually pretty great.  I had steak one night and vegetarian Indian food another.  Each night on the menu they had one "exotic" item.  Leah and I tried these Alligator Fritters.  They weren't bad- honestly they were like deep fried ham and cheese balls.

Fun times indeed!
I've gotta say- I learned that I am not a big fan of cruising.  The entertainment, casinos, constant alcohol consumption... just isn't my idea of fun.  But I am very glad that I went and spent the weekend with Pam and Leah. There were some good late night chats, a lot of lounging in the sun, and nobody's food for me to cut up or diapers to change!  Thanks for the memories girls.  :)