Singing in a Winter Wonderland

Sometimes it is neat to just stop and do fun things. Wednesday night, I packed up Ripley in the trunk and picked up Emma and the Reid family ladies (Chloe, the bunny included) and we headed out to Medfield to go Christmas caroling in the neighborhood with the 4-H clan and all their assorted animals. We ambled through the streets, stopping at beautifully decorated and lit houses to sing holiday favorites accompanied by barks and bahhhhs. It was a chilly night, probably only 20 degrees or so, but we were met by hot cocoa at cookies at one gracious home to warm us up, and the giggling of kids and quick feet of animals kept us going. I'm sure we were a sight to see (and hear); how many of you get Christmas carolers including sheep? It made me think of old movies and slower times. What a neat experience.

I wish more neighborhoods did stuff like this...

Merry Christmas to all...

Thinking Time

Thinking Time

As usual it has been a busy few weeks in the Pickard household: too much work, the end of soccer, the beginning of 4-H and Girl Scouts, parties, laundry - I could go on, but you all know the drill - you all do it too!

Today, I unexpectedly found myself on a plane with three and a half hours to reflect on all that is going on in my world. Things that are important, funny, happy and sad. Here are a few nuggets that went through my bizarre mind at 34,000':

1. I do not deal well with death, dying or disease - in myself or others (keep reading it isn't all this morbid).

2. Everyone should have a phone that stores pictures. In an effort avoid point 1 (which will now be the focus of all future points) I started browsing through pictures and realized how happy my family and friends make me.

3. Try to do more good. Airports and airplanes are interesting places if you really watch the people. There are happy people going on vacation, business people who just want to get home at the end of the week, sad people en-route to sick or lost loved ones, parents - excited to visit their children and brand new grand-babies, and the people who work there. All of them get into an airport and turn into a bunch of nuts, I suspect mostly due to the herding cattle atmosphere currently present in today's airports! Be nice to your fellow human beings. Today I helped someone with their bag, let a very eager man get on the plane in front of me and in general tried to be nicer. I liked it and will try to think about it more often. Most of us need to slow down and watch what is going on around us more often. I liked what I saw when I actually stopped for a minute.

4. I really like music. Thank you to my dear husband who always keeps my iPod up to date. I flipped through all kinds of music, new and old which brought back many memories and created a wonderful little soundtrack of my life on this journey.

5. It is absolutely beautiful to be in a plane and watch the sun set into the clouds.

6. I think I forgot to pack about 1/2 of what I'll probably need... come to think of it, not even sure I put a toothbrush in there??

7. I'm often way too hard on myself. Who cares what I forgot. I'll run to the store tomorrow and get a new toothbrush (even though I have a perfectly good toothbrush at home and this will be a total waste of money!!).

Throughout all the jumble of thoughts, there has been a constant thread weaving in and out, and it is a heart felt prayer for Mimi and family near and far. You've given me many fond memories of Thanksgiving in Briarcliffe, Radio City, seeing if you could make peanut butter from peanuts, riding the stuffed giraffe, laps in the pool and so many more. Thank you.

W.I.N.E.

For the last 2 years, I have had the privilege to work with the fine ladies of the Women's Lunch Place in Boston. A couple of weeks ago, Women in Insurance in New England (WINE for short) hosted their 2nd annual golf outing in support of the Women's Lunch Place and in addition to a monetary donation, we provided them with 3 SUV's stuffed full of in-kind donations. The generosity of of my fellow insurance women continues to truly inspire me and I wish they all had the honor of hand delivering our check, as we were able to see our goods being used, and worn by the ladies of the WLP. If any of you reading this have any gently used winter coats, boots or sweaters, please let me know. WLP also has a listing of other needed items shown here. I'd be happy to come get whatever you have and transport it to Boston for you. It is a fantastic cause, and I've seen these women in action.

Beaching it October Style

Mommy and Emma Day: E and I hung out an went to the beach. I know - beach you say?? In October, in New England? It was spectacular. Sunny, breezy, but not cold, and we actually put our feet in the water. E hiked up her pants, and plopped down to dig in the sand with clam shells. The sky was blue, the air was clean, it was a great afternoon. We stopped for lunch at this little lunch counter and sat on spinning bar stools and had sandwiches grilled up right in front of us while chatting to local waitresses. We drove up highways surrounded by October blue skies and gold and rust covered trees. We sang songs we didn't know the words to. Fall in New England is THE BEST.

Family Circus

It was just a matter of time before little Miss E got tangled up in the high flying antics of "the greatest show on earth" and that time came yesterday. It was a fairly spontaneous family outing thanks to a last minute Ticketmaster email that caught me in a weak moment. Secretly, I think I probably belong in the circus too, and although the stinky smell of elephant poo is not my favorite aromatic pleasure; seeing elephants and tigers dance and parade about just makes me happy. I'm a sucker for the circus.

We arrived early to meet all the circus-folk, and E got to try out a few tricks and work on some of her magic skills. Zing, Zang, Zoom was a magic-themed circus.

Sadly, the circus doesn't pack them in like they used too - it was far from a full house, but much to our delight we were in the front row, and got to hang with Larry the clown during the show. We saw up close and personal just how well orchestrated the production is, and how many jobs everyone has! We felt like we were a part of the show, but happily, didn't have to sweep anything up :)

Don't worry about a thing...

Emma sings to herself all the time: in front of the mirror brushing her teeth, getting dressed, feeding the dog- it is just part of her thing. Most of the time we have no idea what she is singing, and often tune it out because we are so used to it. Yesterday we were outside getting ready to run some errands and heard her little voice. Joe and I actually stopped, looked at each other and laughed - this is what we heard:

Rise up this mornin',

Smiled with the risin' sun,

Three little birds

Pitch by my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs

Of melodies pure and true,

This is my message to youuuuuuuuu

There is nothing like a 6 year old singing "Three Little Birds" to bring a smile to your face. We got in the car, and thanks to modern technology, had the immediate pleasure of cranking the tune up loud and having a family sing along to Bob Marley. It was the highlight of my weekend. For a few minutes we had the delightfully free feeling of not worrying about a thing, and it was more than alright.

"Mom, can I wear a dress to soccer today? It's picture day"

Kids should play sports because they like it and they have fun, and so their parents can go cheer them on and take pictures and share them with family and friends and gush about how good they are. That's what you'll see here. These are well edited and carefully chosen to ensure the most soccer-like, advanced playing Olympic athlete we know we have in our little miss E. Just kidding. The title of this post sums it up best as she was getting ready for her game last week, and it was team picture day before. My girl is a girlie- girl, and soccer is just what it should be to a 6 year old. Fun. Daisy picking, chit chatting, skipping to the ball fun. Sorry Coach Ed!

Going to the Dogs...

Man's best friend took one for the team this weekend and braved doggy humiliation and sunny weather to bring home the blue ribbon for his biggest human fan. The Ripster acted as Emma's canine dress up toy for the Cracker Barrel Fair 4-H Pet Parade and did so with as much grace as he could muster.

"Pumpkin Dog" used his new found fame to socialize with other animals and befriended Gracie the sheep. If Ripley could talk, I think he would have asked for a play date next weekend. Who knew the bunny monster was actually a gentle angel with animals?? I'm starting to think his bunny population control in our yard may have more to do with garden protection of his sacred cucumbers and maybe he really isn't a savage beast. Who am I kidding - instinct is instinct - you can't take all the wolf out of the dog! If only he could catch the occasional fly in the house and put that hunting to good use...

Our first family af"fair" was big success. Emma borrowed Gracie and had her first sheep showing experience, spent some time with the bunnies and guinea pigs and rounded out the day with a Ferris wheel ride. Now, if only they had some kind of category for old, batty cats and we could have had a complete family experience. Sorry, Syd - maybe next time :)
-Lisa

My homage to cheesy goodness

I figure this is my blog and I can write about anything I want, and I am eternally grateful to mac and cheese, so here's a posting dedicated to my love of all things noodle and cheese.

I am lucky enough to find myself employed by an establishment that pays me to dine with my customers nearly every day. I eat in some of Boston and the surrounding area's finer eateries and am delighted to report that the most comforting of all comfort foods (in my opinion) is making a triumphant come-back. It is no longer relegated to the kids menu, but instead can be found prominently displayed amongst the finest entrees, and let it be known, I have no shame in ordering it. It ranges from the the super creamy to the baked casserole variety, some with crunchy toppings (my favorite) and some without. Most have been enjoyable, some superb, with only one or two misses out of the MANY I have sampled.

Imagine my surprise earlier this week to find there is a stand in Quincy Market dedicated solely to dishing out this delightful concoction. Each order is made in front of you, and you can add in all kinds of treats depending on your mood. Apparently it has been around a while, and I must have been living under a rock, because I used to consider myself fairly well informed on the goings on of the mac and cheese world! I was so inspired, I actually took a picture of their menu on my phone, so I'd be ready to order on my next free day. I can now ponder bacon vs. classic or any other variety on my walk over. If you are still reading this, you are probably as crazy as me, and it is about to get worse...

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess I'm not the only complete nut about mac and cheese as Kraft recently put a statue (if that's what you would call it) in Faneuil Hall of a giant cheesy noodle. I'm not really a fan of the blue box product, but anyone bold enough to erect a statue of a giant, yellow, noodle looking thing in the middle of Boston wins a few votes in my book. I encountered this giant noodle on my way back from my picture taking, mac and cheese adventure mentioned above and smiled all the way back to the office. Thanks, Kraft. Sometimes, something so silly just makes your day.

-Lisa

All good things must come to an end

Just one day back to work, and that warm and carefree vacation feeling is already a fading memory. The hustle and chaos of fall is near, as school starts tomorrow, along with soccer, girl scouts and all the school related commotion that somehow takes a backseat to bike riding, beaches, frog hunting and fishing during the summer. Fortunately, we had one week of bliss.

I am a self-admitted workaholic, but for the first time in a long time, even I submitted to the joys of personal freedom and relished in 9 whole days of computer free vacationing. There was an occasional check of the blackberry, but I had made a promise to my family, and more important, to myself, to actually vacation this vacation - our first of the summer. It had been a long time coming, and we packed it full of all the best New England has to offer. We covered 5 states, multiple family members, numerous boats, and cars and saw more wild animals in their natural habitat than we've seen in a long time. Thank you to Earl for not disrupting any of our plans.

So, one day after, and back in the grind, we have some great pictures (some we've posted in the prior post, and a few more below from our weekend with Grandpa Joe and Sarah in Vermont) , but more important, the memories of a great family vacation. Family visits, car rides (dog included), and hours upon hours of laughing, reading, and sometimes just doing nothing. Now we can start dreaming of next time. Where to go???

-Lisa

I could get used to this lifestyle...

At long last, the Pickard family vacation is in full swing and summertime weather hasn't let us down. It looks like we'll get it all this week from scorching heat to hurricanes! Our journey began with a cruise out to Block Island with Papa Gene and Grammy. We're happy to report we have a new little sailor among us, and that nothing has changed with Mommy... I can still sleep anywhere, anytime on a boat. "Horizontalism" reigns supreme! We had 3 glorious days among the sun and sand of Block Island with a brief pit stop over at Fisher's Island for lunch on the way home. After countless years of sailing the waters of Long Island Sound, our good luck charm, Emma, helped us spot 3 Leatherback turtles! A rare and spectacular site, but understandable considering the abundant jellyfish population (their food source). Thank You to Papa and Grammy for the great trip!

Tuesday brought us to Boston on a whale watch and to the Museum of Science. What fun! Our sea creature friends were out in full force and put on an amazing show. The Museum of Science never disappoints and the Butterfly Garden made Emma's list of "best of" for the day thanks to the giant Morpho butterflies they had.

Heading north next...

It is the small unexpected things

There's no better treat during a long week of work than an unexpected picture of your child experiencing the joys of summer. Thanks to Ms. Terry at KidsKampus, I got a few extra of these this week, and they came when I needed them most. I stumbled upon them late Thursday night( or maybe I should say early Friday morning!). I arrived home late from a work function - the second night in a row of not getting to see Emma, and happened to have my ipod in my hand. It automatically connects to our wi-fi network when I get in the house and a little box popped up that said I had a new message from Terry. I hadn't slept more than a few hours in 3 days, but for some reason I opened it up and beautiful pictures were there to greet me. Happy, smiling faces of kids enjoying summer the way kids are supposed to. Outside, running, playing, climbing trees and laughing. They were captured with beams of sunshine running through them and it was the perfect late night gift to send me to sleep with a warm feeling in my heart knowing that although I may not have been "present" all week, things were as they should be.

Weekend Warrior

It has been a while since the Pickard clan has been home for the weekend and without a birthday party, road trip, or other suburban family summer outing; so we took the opportunity to put the house in order. It also happens to be Massachusetts's "tax holiday" weekend (which I couldn't pass up!), so we started out with back to school shopping followed by mail box replacement (about 5 years over due) and for Emma, an art project to keep her occupied during the mail box replacement.

I've been nagging to replace the mailbox for years now. It actually fell over once last year, but Joe resurrected it and it could probably cling to life for another year or two, if you don't mind bringing the can of wasp spray with you to fetch the mail every day. I think that was my final straw. Two trips to Lowes later, and far more manual labor that Joe wanted to expend on a Sunday afternoon, we have two lovely projects to show from the Pickard household: a new mailbox and lovely painted piggy bank from Emma to keep her out of earshot of any 4 letter words that may have trickled out from the driveway.

Thank you Joe. The mailbox is lovely.

Life's a Beach

Annual vacation week with Grandma and Papa Ray! The house may have been different, but the fun was still the same. Thanks to Papa Ray, I have some work to do on my homemade mac and cheese :) As usual, the food was a focus of the trip and the kids are still talking about it! I can't wait to see the recipe book from Grandma at Christmas time. The picture to the left shows lifeguard chair No.9 AKA "home base". Thanks Mom and Ray for your visit - we all had a great time and can't wait until next year!!

Here are some more great shots of the perfect weather and great water. There really should be more of Joe - I think he spent more time in the water than the kids each weekend, but somehow, we took all the pics of the kids ;) Enjoy!