Saturday, January 30, 2010

Demo Day

The following are a few VERY mediocre photos, taken from Noah's iPhone, of our house demo in progress. It's been a long time in the coming, but we're almost at d-day. Almost.

3 months after we moved in to a rental down the street, it looks like our permits are just about as good as in our hands. The fire department has conducted one training exercise to date -- hence the destruction seen below. Here's hoping that today's snow won't interfere with destruction exercise #2, scheduled for tomorrow. If all goes according to plan, our house will be demolished bright and early 4 days from now. For as long as we've waited, it won't take long for the house to fall. Literally. Apparently while it takes 4-5 (or more) months to build a house, it takes a mere 20 minutes to knock it down.

Sadly, I'm heading out on a business trip tomorrow and will -- say it 'aint so! -- MISS THE DEMOLITION. Lily has promised to video it for me. Noah has promised to help her.

So, after much anticipation, our house project -- "Operation Secure More Space" -- is about to officially commence.

I'll keep you posted throughout!





Saturday, January 16, 2010

Counting Curls

I've thought about doing this long before now...

I've negotiated with myself about when I would do this...

I've talked myself out of it several times...

Today I took Anna for her first haircut.

Her curls are just so darned delicious that I didn't want to lose even one. But those near-dreadlocks that started in the warm Caribbean air didn't go away when we got home. And either a bird was going to take up residence in the tangles cascading down her neck, or we were going to have to get it trimmed. And as much as we all love birds, I opted for the latter.

I remember Lily's first haircut SO well. She was grumpy, but I was the one who cried. It happened so quickly and, before I knew it, her curls were on the floor and not her head. We long ago ditched that kiddie-cartoon hair salon, and I knew that Miss Annie at our local barber shop would take much more care.

Lily post-first haircut; we were both sad.

Lily post-cut today. Happy camper!

Anna did great -- she sat on her own and not my lap! And Lily was even inspired to get a trim. Both, of course, enjoyed the post-cut popcorn and lollipops.





...curls still there!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

What I did on my winter vacation...

We've been back from St. Croix for exactly one week, but it seems like eons ago that we were basking in the warm trade winds, swimming in the ocean, drinking rum punches and pina coladas (and crucian confusions and strawberry daiquiris and, well, you get it). The trip home was horrific. Some day, when I stop twitching at the memories, I'll recount them for you. The actual vacation, while we were there was, well, wonderful.


Lily's artistic side came out in full force with all the creatures -- from Ariel to Persephone -- she and my mom formed in the sand. And she transformed from a little mommy in to a great big sister. For real. She and Anna played -- they actually PLAY-ED!! -- with eachother for hours. It was awesome. And it gave me a glimpse in to the future...as McDonald's would say, I'm lovin' it.


Toughie Anna delighted in the water. Pool... Ocean... She's an equal opportunity lover of all things liquid. Her language just exploded while we were away. (I'm not sure if it was a developmental milestone that she just hit the last week of December '09 or if it had to do with the fact she was surrounded by English, not Spanish, speakers all day.) Her curly hair also exploded -- poor kid almost had dreadlocks by the time we left the islands.


I actually got to READ. A. BOOK! Holy cow. Not sure when the last time that happened. Maternity leave, almost 21 months ago, perhaps? Although, fear not, my blackberry worked just fine. Turns out that the office can find you anywhere, although it sure helped to be lounging poolside while responding to emails.


Noah, bless his heart, stayed on top of the new house while we were gone. Separate blog posting on that to follow, some day soon. But seeing as though we're in the homestretch of decisions -- from exterior color to drawer pulls -- Noah didn't have the luxury to stepping away for 8 days. It's going to be so well worth it once this new house is built!


St. Croix has roughly the same population (55,000ish) as St. Thomas, a neighboring USVI, but is approximately three times larger of an island. End result -- much less densely populated, and tons 'o island to explore! Each day we set out to explore a new beach. Chenay Bay... The Buckaneer... Cane Bay... Rainbow Beach... Hard to pick a favorite.


Two thumbs up for a totally awesome vacation. And a mondo huge THANK YOU to my mother, our hostess, who chose to celebrate her, um, 21st birthday by taking the entire family to paradise. Happy birthday mom!

The pool at, and view from, our rented villa




Boat ride/snorkel trip to Buck Island, a national monument (as designated by President Kennedy) and one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world (as designated by National Geographic)






Rainbow Beach






The beach @ The Buckaneer




Cane Bay (a BYOC -- bring your own chair -- beach)





Chenay Bay Beach (that was crawling with hermit crabs!)








New Year's Day Parade, St. Croix style




Farewell St. Croix!



 
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