becauseiamnotanelephant

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

beach day

Hannah fell asleep on the way to dinner last night, slept through dinner, and didn't wake up until 9 this morning. Graham, too, slept until 9, so I had time to catch up on things and plan out our next few days.

Once we were all awake and functioning, we finally were able to get out of the apartment to get some breakfast, walk along the waterfront, and by then it was super hot so we got our bathing suits on and went right to the beach, which is just a hop skip and a jump from where we are staying.

We spent almost 7 hours at the beach - Hannah is loving jumping in the waves and playing in the inner tube we bought this morning. We had lunch at a cafe on the beach and just relaxed the whole day as much as you can with a kid who flips constantly between having the time of her life and you wanting to kill her. She had a sudden transformation into being a picky eater since we got here so the lack of calories isn't helping.

Rather than run relays back and forth to the apartment to go to the bathroom, I told her she could just pee in the water. She took a moment to adjust to this idea but then started yelling across the beach to us that SHE JUST PEED IN THE WATER. Or MOM I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AND I'M GOING IN THE WATER TO DO IT.

It's not the most amazing or beautiful beach I've seen on the Mediterranean, but the water is clear and comfortable and there are some interesting features, like that we were able to walk in the water around some rocks and find some other hidden beaches.

The town is fun to walk around in and there are endless shops and places to sit and get a drink. I was luckily able to find a place with food that Hannah would eat for dinner and food that Graham could eat (vegetarians and tapas/waterfront towns are a bit of a conflict), we got some ice cream, and enjoyed the slightly cooler evening to walk around.

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

detox

We sweat so much in the last to days and slept so little that I's moderately amazing that we are still all alive to tell the tale.

We arrived in Barcelona at 6 AM. With no checked bags and a breeze of a time getting through customs, we were on the streets of the city by 7 AM. 7 AM on a Sunday meant things were pretty dead, so we mostly just took advantage of the "cooler" temps and walked around.

We saw Plaza Catalunya, where I finished my first epic bike ride 12 years ago, walked down Las Ramblas, looked for places to get some breakfast, and then finally walked to the city park so Hannah could go to a playground. All the playgrounds we found were major disappointments, but the fountain we found was pretty impressive.

By this point it was getting unbearably hot so we went to the Picasso Museum. I had never been, although Graham and I went to one of his museums in Japan. He was really a prolific artist and it's impressive how many different styles he was able to master over his lifetime.

Back on the street we did some major sweating back to where we had checked our luggage that morning.

Hannah was attacked by the subway fare gates en route to the train that would take us to Sitges. We were lucky for seats and space on this train since Hannah and I both fell aleep.

Sitges is a fun little town with winding roads like Ostuni, but with a much more significant gay population and super easy, direct access to the beach. Once we were settled we were headed right for the water, which is less than 5 minutes from our apartment.

The water could not have been better and it was so refreshing. After a long time in the water, we played games and then went back for the most needed shower ever. On the way to dinner Hannah passed out so all I can hope is that she doesn't wake up at 3 AM, ready to go!

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

travel day

Today after running around doing a million things all morning, we were finally packed up and out the door for our trip to Spain.

It was a long and sweaty adventure with three backpack carryons, a bag of snacks and lunch, my hiking backpack, Graham's duffle bag, and the stroller.

Schlepping our stuff to Bay Street was a sweaty walk.

Then there was no AC on the train, but luckily we walked down a few cars and found the cool air otherwise I would have melted.

Normally we cross the platform at Newark/Broad for the NY train, but this time we had to go down under the tracks and back up to transfer to a train so crowded that we all stood for the whole ride. No one offered Hannah a seat.

After battling the crowds to get to the main level at Penn, we finally were on the airconditioned and not so crazy LIRR.

At Jamaica, the escalator was out so we had to climb all the stairs to the airtrain.

It was a long, sweaty, mess of a day to get to Spain, but we did it! Hannah and I took some melanonin that resulted in some exhausted-based tantruns on her part so we at least got a few hours of sleep.

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

I would like to request to see the traffic study

We saw the town installing a new traffic signal at Watchung Plaza today. I am curious who did this study because I don't see how this is going to work, nor did anyone we heard talking about it, nor did anyone we talked about it with. It's a tricky intersection, for sure, with 5 legs and a lot of pedestrians, so it seems like a good idea but I guarantee that traffic back up is going to go under the train tracks and then the possibility of rear end crashes will start to rise.

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

something different

I took Hannah to the American Dream Mall to meet up with her friend Alice and her brother to check out an immersive bubble experience. I didn't know what to expect but Hannah REALLY didn't know what to expect and her mind was blown!

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

new tricks

Today Hannah learned/was confident enough to hang upside and let go with her hands. It was giving my in-laws heart palpitations but she was pretty good with it - enough so that by dinner time she hung upside down and sorted the laundry.

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

land of make believe

My inlaws took Hannah and her cousins to the Land of Make Believe today. Once they left and my parents, after getting discharged from the hospital left to go back to NY, I was able to get a few hours to myself to take care of things before our trip this coming weekend. Most importantly, I was able to finally figure out the mystery of why my bike stopped working. Hoping for a few good rides before we leave.

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

how to erase a dark cloud?

Well, this week my mom gets cleared as cancer free but that was not until after a spill at her new house that left her in the ER overnight and with pain that will not be resolved for several days after. How does one push off or erase this dark cloud that has been following her for over a year?

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

not my scene

Hannah's cousin had her 6th birthday party at a kids spa. Not my scene and while it was cute it seemed pretty boring for the kids even though they liked picking out the nail polish. Hannah even opted out of the facial, which I was secretly happy about.

If Hannah really chooses to have a roller skating party, the contrast will be drastic!

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

new skates

Our new skates are working out well but I definitely need to break mine in - I feel so wobbly compared to the solid and well-worn rentals I've been using.

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

not hosting

Inspired my our parties, our friends hosted people at their house tonight for "40 Bash" which I was told many times was NOT a birthday party despite it being a celebration of the couple turning 40 this year. Not sure what it was - that we have some friends with no kids or older kids or they live nearby, or that West Caldwell is more suburban than Montclair and people go to bed earlier, but we were the last ones there at 8:30 PM. It was nice to attend a party and not host for once!

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

Out

After a fun morning at the pool with several of Hannah's school friends, things at home dragged and I was tired of waiting for people to stop whining and start making decisions and so I just checked out and went to NYC. I had some time to myself before Graham joined me and we walked down to Hudson Square for a good birthday dinner. Hannah can be such a pain when it comes to doing anything outside of the house but I know that once she is out she is happy, and Graham needs to get over worrying too much about her being upset/listening to her whining. Life is too short. Come September I am going to start filling the calendar. I'm tired of being frustrated.

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

so excited

All of Hannah's grandparents were visiting today and she couldn't stand the excitement. It was a fun day but bedtime left much to be desired.

We also went to the farm again for another festival. Hannah had fun running around with her friends and Alice's mom thought to bring a candle to do another birthday celebration!

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

birthday and potatoes!

It wasn't the most fun birthday but I got to celebrate with my brother and his family at the Glen Ridge pool/night out.

And it wasn't an amazing harvest, but I dug up the potatoes today - not sure what I expected but we got something! (and some green beans and shishito peppers)

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

first haircut!

I don't know what made Hannah all of a sudden decide she wanted to get her haircut after all these years of discussing that she wants hair down to her tush, but she made the decision loud and clear. We both got a haircut and she took the whole thing really well considering they chopped off a lot! The hair stylist asked if it was emotional for me - to be honest, if she was two years old, then maybe it would have been more upsetting, but she's been carrying this baby hair around with her for over 4.5 years!

Before:

During:

After:

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

A new triathlon

Today's adventure was bike, rave, party.

I started the morning with a fun bike ride in perfect weather with the Kool Kids.

Once I showered up, I was out the door with Hannah to a Toddler Rave. We ran into her ninja teachers, our neighbor, and one of Talia's friends, and got to check out a cool new place in Montclair. Unfortunately, the rave itself was a let down. I don't think people realize that if you play music that adults want to dance to that parents and kids will dance. If you play kids music, only a handful of kids dance and it's just not really fun for anyone.

The last leg of the day was to Hannah's cousin's David's house to celebrate his birthday. It was a fun afternoon and the kids played really well together.

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

can't get out of the house

Another beautiful day, another battle to get Hannah out of the house. Finally we made it out the door and she was totally happy. We had lunch at a fun mexican restaurant, went on a very short hike, and then spent the afternoon with her cousins at London and Lily's grandparents lake house.

Then she didn't want to come home.