Home from Home



Blueberries picking



And back we are from our week long escape to Gramma Kathy's.   It was good to be home - we sat on the deck and ate our breakfasts.  Addie froliced in Mom's backyard, swinging in the hammock, feeding birds and squirrel hunting.

Pittsfield's Third Thursday

We ate fabulous bagel sandwiches in the park, picked over six pounds of fresh blueberries, spent quality time with Auntie Barb, and made a new friend.  Of course we hit the outlets for some tax-free clothes, and Addie made out like a bandit.  We wandered up to the farm to feed some animals, over to Conneticut to visit family, and down North Street for the Third Thursday festival.  Addie painted Gramma's nails, got a little spoiled, and woke up this morning missing her Gramma when she realized she was stuck all day with just me.

Hugs with new friend Emily

For my part I did a lot of reading and some resting and quite a bit of sitting back while Gramma took over.  I ran into some old faces on the street and missed seeing one of my oldest friends by a few hours.  I reveled in the cooler temperatures and having someone else make my coffee for me.

The goats at Whitney's Farm

Addison traveled, four airplanes and a several hours in the car, like a champ.  By the time we touched down in Indianapolis, she was so sound asleep that she didn't even know we landed.  Daddy got a few extra hugs this morning and the cat is being smothered in with toddler love. 

And for now we are home - no travel plans on the calendar...but we sure are thankful for the wonderful trip "home" we just took.

Excuses excuses

I have been spending some quality time in my car - and am about to log several more hours of car togetherness. I can barely think in full sentences, let alone type coherent paragraphs.

**Addie was diagnosed with a double ear infection last week.

**Saturday night we attended a family wedding where Addie and Rylan tore up the dance floor. They were a tornado of spinning and running and general boogey-ing.

**She and I hit the road for the Mountain State Sunday morning. We visited with my aunts and uncles, with my wonderful cousins and with Gramma Kathy. Addie played and played and harassed the cat. She took a walk with Uncle Glenn to pet a baby deer. She giggled and twirled and basically entertained the crowd.

**I am exhausted. I have 90 pounds of laundry to do. I have to pack and get ready to hit the road again tomorrow. From the quietness of West Virginia to the bustle of Chicago all in a few days.

**Addie has been accident free for longer than I know - she did excellent in the car and experienced her first roadside rest area (um, ICK).

I am being called back reality - the dryer just buzzed.

A is for Apple

When I was growing up almost every fall would be marked by a trip to the apple orchard. In my memory, Mom would cram us (us being anyone in arms' reach) into the orange Oldsmobile or stack us into the minivan and we would drive to Kinderhook, NY.

The orchard we would go to allowed us not only to pick our own apples, but the trees were big enough that we could climb. And believe me, I was quite the tree climber as a kid. Height did not phase me. Bird nest, whatevs. Power lines, no biggie. My brother and I would scramble as high as we could, pick apples off the branches and toss them down to my mom. We would have picnics, gorge ourselves on fresh apple cider, and have rotten apple wars. The orchard we went to allowed dogs, and inevitably our silly mutt, Chemo the wonder pup, would run off and smash deer poop into her ears. Between that and the amount of cider we drank, it was often a bit of a stinky ride home.

However, once we got home it was apple recipes galore. Apple crisp, apple pie, apple sauce, and my fav, apple squares. I love everything about apple picking - the arrival of Autumn, cool air, blue skies, fallen leaves, laughter, family tradition. I love Autumn - I love jeans and long sleeve tees. I love the need for a sweatshirt in the morning. I love the smell of baking apples. And I am trying to impart this love to my little lady.

So, needless to say, I was thrilled to finally take my little Bean apple picking. The orchard we went to had gorgeous views of mountains, fresh apple cider donuts and pumpkins. The trees at the orchard were too small to climb, but that didn't deter us from having a blast. Addie plucked apples off the trees and chucked them into our bag - resulting in tons of bruised apples. The few apples that weren't bruised? Those were licked or bitten into courtesy of our little harvester.

She ran the rows of trees. She scarfed down a cider donut. She picked out a 'mama' and a 'baby' pumpkin. She watched cider ferment. And she, like me, loved it all.

Sean + Ali = Vomit

Let's start at the very beginning....it's a very good place to start....

Almost two weeks ago I checked off the travel list:
Portable DVD player. Check.
Bag full of toys. Check.
Healthy snacks. Check.
Packed suitcases. Boarding passes. Check, check.

Off Addie and I flew to New England for nine autumn days with Gramma. Four planes later, we're back at home, readjusting to sleeping schedules and wishing Gramma was still around to change diapers and pour wine.

I mentioned last week that there are tales to be told...and the first one has very little to do with Addie. Nope this one is all about me, my poor decision making ability and my questionable choices in friends.

After arriving at Gramma's, late in the night, Addie wrapped herself around giraffe and snuggled up in the port-a-crib, snoozing blissfully until morning. On Friday we putzed around and lamented a rainy day, but I knew that rain was not going to ruin my plans. See, luckily for moi, two very good friends of mine live about 45 minutes from Mom, in Albany, New York. She is there finishing her ER residency and he is there desperately trying to figure out a way to get fired from his job. They're both counting the seconds until they can return to sweet home Chicago.

Ali drove over the mountains and met me at the outlets for some shopping before we headed back to their place for some drinks, dinner and fun. Addie kissed me goodbye and mom practically shoved me out the door in anticipation of one-on-one time with her littlest lady. Freedom.

Ali and I shopped and chatted and shopped some more. We drove to Albany, with my overnight bag, and uncorked some wine. We ate cheese, laughed, had a martini, laughed. We watched Sean make us dinner and we plotted our night ahead.

Dinner was lovely - rosemary roasted potatoes, smoked beer butt chicken and salad. Our martinis gone, we delved into two bottles of red from their impressive arsenal of wine. We laughed at each other and with each other and at our shared friends. It was lovely. By 11:45 I was in bed...In my pjs under the covers. Honk shoo honk shoo.

When I woke up I was groggy and had a bit of head ache, but okay. I showered, took up residence on their couch and waited for our day to start. Big plans for burgers and bloody marys were awaiting....but first....I hurled.

Yep. I christened their toilet in their newly refinished bathroom. Embarrassing? Yes. Par for the course if I have a tad too much to drink these days? Yes.

Hurling done, I was ready for lunch and feeling great.

Then the waitress but my burger down in front of me. I got a little hot feeling. I could hardly bare to smell or look at it. I excused myself to the oddest bar bathroom ever (all covered in chrome, mirrors and yellow) and I hurled some more.

Yep. I hurled in a public place. A lot. Did I want to hide my face? Yes. Was I a little more than embarrassed? Yes.

It was time to trek back to the Berkshires - I was feeling good enough and thinking about the mimosas Ali and I would sip. We got in their new car. It was shiny. It smelt like new car. It had all sorts of fancy buttons and screens - and I hurled again. In a bag, in their car, as we were heading to I-90.

Mortified. Check.

And then again, 5 miles from my Mom's house. And then two more times in the house I grew up in. I was feeling a little icky but overall decent, talking and laughing, and then bam - hurling. My stomach rejected Friday night's fun, three bites of a burger, a Pepcid and bottles of water.

I was BROKEN. While curled in a fetal position, demanding Ali use her doctor skills to fix me, I surrendered my rock star card.

Once and forever.

The days of mixing alcohol - gone. The days of drinking multiple martinis - gone. The days of bouncing back - gone. The days of being awesome - gone.

I say it loud and I say it proud - I am a Mommy NOT a rock star.

Ali and Sean broke me. Maybe permanently. But that isn't really the big story about those 36 hours - the big story is that Addison made a decision on Friday night that has pretty much changed my entire world.

But more on that later.

My Kind of Town

Five hours up the road (okay, up a couple of roads) is Chicago. Everyone knows my love of Chicago.

College in Chicago lured me away from home. It is where I met some of my very best friends. It is where I fell in love, married my husband, bought my first home and gave birth to my daughter. Chicago taught me the how truly amazing a hot dog can be, how to be a fanatical baseball fan and the beauty of a well made martini.

Moving away broke my heart, but returning for a minute or two makes me smile from ear to ear. I love to see the fountain in Grant Park, the boats in the harbor, the sun sparkling off the skyscrapers. I love the little neighborhoods, the shopping and the energy. My family. My friends. The freaking pizza.

Me + Chicago = an endless love.

Addie and I escaped the debaucherous boys football draft in Cincinnati and fled to Chicago this past weekend. We primarily played with Grampa, Gram, Emmett et al. But we managed to sneak in a visit with some Chicago pals ~ Addie played with Sam's toys, sat on Tool's lap, learned from Karen how to put her coat on all by herself (side note: she learned this skill because in Chicago it was cool enough to require coat!) and sat outside wrapped in a Snuggie with Michael. We met Baby Seamus, scarfed down mini corn dogs at Riverview and were reminded what great friends we have.

And as much fun as we had in Chicago, we had equally as much fun hanging in Glenview. Addie scarfed down sweet treats from Gram and Grampa. She ran wild in their yard, played with the sandbox and wore off energy with her "baby" cousin Emmett.

On Saturday we went with Grampa to Wagner Farm and the Farmers Market - both of which little lady loved. At the farm Addison adored the fake cow that she could milk, the pen of roosters and geese and with the old fashioned ice cream parlor (mmmm, double chocolate milk shake).

At the market she helped herself to more than enough free samples of cheese, smelled the fresh flowers and checked out the bins of tomatoes. A perfect Saturday by our standards.

The rest of our visit centered around playing and laughing and having fun with family - all of which was done in abundance.

...Going to Carolina...

Ahhhh, to be home. I have been "on the road" for the past four weekends, and while I loved all of my trips, I am thrilled to be back on my own couch.

Andy, Brian and I headed off to Chapel Hill, N.C. this weekend to cheer the Tarheels on to victory over evil Duke Blue Devils. I was a little worried about leaving Addie for 3.5 days. She had been in her Mama-only phase and had a bit of a cold. Turns out Iworried needlessly. Her plethora of caretakers (Grandma, Aunt Nikki, Genna) all reported that she was good as gold. In fact, Nikki swears that within minutes of us dropping her off, we were all but forgotten.

Being in the Carolina sunshine with Christie Lee was just what the doctor ordered. The doctor did not, however, order the abuse that I inflicted on my liver on Saturday or the amount of fried food I shoved down my throat...but the laughter outweighed the damage.

Christie and I dropped the boys off at their place of worship on Sunday and we headed out for some shopping and girl time. We wisely chose to watch THE game from the best venue ever: a nail salon. The game was quite tight and nerve wrecking at times, but I managed to stay calm as my feet were being massaged and my nails polished. Chris and I headed back to Franklin Street, the scene of too many drinks from the night before, just in time to catch the last 15 minutes of game and be swept up in pure Tarheel Mania.

Andy and Brian were, of course, flying high and a little bit overwhelmed. I am pretty sure that Sunday was the second greatest day of Andy's life: Addie's birth eked out No. 1, and the game shoved our wedding to third.

Both boys had sore throats from cheering and Andy had a bruised finger from clapping so hard. The boys and Christie celebrated the big win, while I, in shocking role reverseal, played the responsible adult. Note to self: it's no fun being a responsible adult.

Our trip was wonderful and entertaining, the drive back was gassy (two hungover Neyer boys + one car = nasty) but relatively painless. And when we arrived home, Little Miss Thang was up waiting for us - even if it did take her a minute or two to remember who we were.

Gramma's: Part II

Being back home was incredibly relaxing, although it turns out that I definitely have "mom ears" and keep "mom hours", being that I was unable to sleep in past 7:30ish and was usually conking out no later than 11. My mom got up with Addison every morning, but unfortunately that didn't help me sleep in. These days once I am awake, aka once Addison is awake, it is virtually impossible for me to fall back asleep...unless of course I am hung over, then I can muster up the energy and concentration to do it.

It was quite a treat, however, just to lay in bed and watch TV or read, giggling to myself about the poopy diaper I had just avoided changing. Sunday and Monday are a blur to me ~ I think we just hung around the house eating. I know we went out to Teo's for some hot dogs and a beer. Yum. Oh so yum. Andy left for Lowell Monday night and I plotted my shopping for Tuesday. I love you no-tax-on-clothing-Massachusetts.

Sadly, shopping kinda sucked and here's why: 1) Everything I tried on except a few things looked utterly RIDICULOUS on me and reminded me what a lovely muffin top I have. 2) If Addison was in the store with me she incessantly said Mama over and over in varying pitches and tones. To say it was annoying would be a huge understatement. Thankfully Gramma was more than willing to stroll with her outside.

After shopping we had a fabulous time playing at Auntie Bar-ba-ra's house and then feasted on wonderful slouvaki salads with tons of feta...maybe the feta is contributing to my muffin top???

Wednesday we drove down the turnpike to the Holyoke Children's Museum. We were a little apprehensive that the traveling would be too much for Little Miss Needy, but lucky us, she slept there and back. The museum was a surprising hit, and chock full of kids. Note to self: Don't go to a children's museum during school vacation week.

Addison loved playing in the water activity, on a fake ambulance, with the bubbles and with the blocks. She fearlessly climbed a two story climby-thingy (yep, that's the official name of it) and held her own with the big kids. Well, to be fair, she struggled a bit with the snotbags who almost knocked her down at the water activity, but she regained her composure quickly (I, on the other hand, wanted to knock them on their asses, but my mother wouldn't let me.). We finished off our trip to the museum with a ride on the merry-go-round. She loved every second of it, and when it sped up she looked at me and said "whoooooaaaa" and then giggled.

Thursday was spent playing with Auntie Bar-ba-ra, blowing more bubbles, coloring and losing my cell phone (it was found, yesterday, under my mother's stove and is currently en route to Cincinnati). Thursday also introduced us to sick Addison.

Sick Addison is like me when I am hungry - demanding, cranky, unreasonable, moody and slightly ridiculous. Except when I am hungry no one thinks that I'm still kinda cute. Sick Addison was in full blown mode by Friday and was a real treat to travel home with on Saturday.

Friday Addison got to meet my cousin Jay and his fabulous fiancee Sara. Sadly, Sick Addison was still with us and demanding, cranky, unreasonable, moody and ridiculous barely covered the mood she was in. She was so ridiculous that Jay nicknamed this version of her "Baddison" (which I totally LOVE and am going to use from now on). By the night's end, Andy had arrived, as well as Barb and Phil, so Addie perked up a little and showed some love to Jay and Sara...and then coughed herself to sleep.

Saturday we left for Albany with a very unhappy and downright miserable child. Before getting out of town I stopped at CVS to stock up on children's Tylenol and a bitty bottle of Advil for us. Both were needed by the day's end.

After getting through security, Addie stood on a bench and waved bye to Gramma and gave a little wiggle for extra effect. She then gave Andy and I a run for our money during our flight to Midway...lots of tantrums and screaming. I made no eye contact with any other passengers, it would have been too painful. Of course, as if on cue, she fell asleep for the final 20 minutes of our flight.

We then arrived in Midway and enjoyed an unexpected three hour layover thanks to snow in the Windy City. Man, did Addie and I enjoy all 72 round trips we took on the moving sidewalk. BIG FUN. I got to enjoy all 72 round trips because suddenly Daddy wasn't allowed to touch Addie, ONLY MOMMY. Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama...you get the point.

So while our trip home was wonderful, it also introduced me to a new side of my daughter. One who isn't always a ball sunshine and rainbows. Nope, turns out on occasion she can be quite the little thunderstorm. She can be cranky, irrational, needy, demanding, and relentless. And sometimes all she needs is her Mommy.

Turns out she is more like me than I realized.

Gramma's House: Part I

Addison and I are back from our trip to the beautiful Berkshires...and we are, shockingly, in one piece. Our trip started off last Saturday. In the early morning she went to Grandma Patty's so that I could finish the last minute anal retentive things that I feel the need to do before going on vacation.

Yep, I am that person that must clean out the fridge, vacuum, make sure the beds are made and the kitchen is clean. This is one of the many traits that I have inherited from my mother, and one my many traits that Andy does not understand. If I leave on vacation with a messy house, I usually leave crying. The one exception was when we left on our honeymoon, in that instance I left my apartment in such a mess that I am sure my mother's heart would have stopped.


The point being, I did my flight of the bumblebee and then headed to pick up Miss Addie. I knew it wasn't a good sign when Grandma said, "She's just not herself today". I braced myself for a long day.


Addison slept almost all the way to Indianapolis and woke up in a pretty good mood. We made through security, and waited for our plane to board. While waiting Addison tried to make friends with a young woman also boarding the plane - she primarily wanted to be her friend so that she could get a bite of the woman's egg croissant. In all fairness, it looked like a delectable breakfast sandwich.


Unfortunately, our flight to Chicago was FULL. We boarded in group A and still had to slide into an aisle seat next to a very unamused couple. I could read the look on their collective face, and it said, "Oh shit, why us?".
But, really, overall, Addison did well. She sat on my lap or stood between my legs and looked at her books or out the window. Once or twice she tried to touch the tattoos of the woman next to us, but I was able to catch her in the nick of time.


Enter Midway...our layover was just long enough to shove down two hot dogs from Gold Coast Dogs. We boarded a fairly empty plane and managed to get a whole aisle to ourselves. For the majority of this flight she was wonderful. Coloring, watching The Lion King, reading books and looking out the window.
Side note here: on Valentine's Day Southwest offers complimentary vodka cranberry. WHAT? Awesome. I did not partake in one on the first leg of our trip, but rewarded myself with one on the second. That turned out to be a genius idea, being that for the last twenty minutes of the flight Addison went a little cuckoo. After much screaming, crying, thrashing, kicking and blubbering I got her calm for the final descent by having her hunt for kitties in SkyMall. Additional side note: SkyMall has a fair amount of product for cats and many lovely feline photos. I think this stroke of genius was fueled by my lovely vodka cocktail, therefore both of my side notes are pretty darn relevant.


Addison and I got off the plane, she waved buh-bye to the flight attendants and we headed in search of Gramma Kathy.


Addison searched and searched as we walked through the terminal...no Gramma. But when we rounded the corner to go through security, there was Gramma.


And little Miss Thang wiggled out of my arms and ran full speed ahead into the arms of her Gramma...and thus was the perfect beginning of our vacation week.



**Addie went home with Gramma that night and I met Andy at Albany's Club 525 for wine, a fabulous dinner, and a slight hangover the next morning. Thanks, Sean and Ali, for putting up with us, I mean for putting us up.

Indiana can ruin a weekend

On my way home from South Haven I learned that the difference between 60 and 72 is not 12. Nope, the difference is $126.00, at least that's what Officer #4585 of the Indiana State police taught me. Now not only I am no longer cavity free and proud to be, but I am no longer speeding ticket free and proud to be. Damn, my whole identity is crashing down around me.

While it would have been better sans speeding ticket, overall the weekend was still wonderful.

Friday I drove through tons of rain and tons of small Indiana towns, but finally arrived at the cottage around 7 p.m. Sean and Ali had a glass of white wine waiting on the table for me. Copious amounts of wine flowed and dinner was served at 11:30 p.m. in typical cottage style. After a dip in the hot tub, and more wine we headed to bed....which is where I stayed until almost 10 a.m.

Ali's shower had perfect weather and was at the outdoor garden of Fenn Valley Winery. Ali was showered with gorgeous gifts and seemed to enjoy the special guest of the vineyard kitty, Pinot Meow.

We feasted on some amazing food, I won't even go into how much goat cheese I consumed, and sipped several wines. I was in charge of driving the ladies home, so did not enjoy the wine quite to extent that Sue, Michelle, Kellogg and Mary did. We drove back to the cottage with the top down, nothing like a bunch of tipsy, windswept ladies to keep the party going. We spent the rest of the day soaking up the Michigan sun, soaking up the remaining wine from the shower and frolicking with the boys.

The cottage is still one of my very favorite places in the world, but my how times have changed. By 11:30 Saturday night all of us were safely tucked into our beds...Michelle, unfortunately, was tucked in with a severely sprained ankle after a graceful fall down the A-frame loft steps. At least she ran the Soldier Field 10 Mile Saturday morning and now has an excuse to rest her running shoes.

I arrived back in Cincinnati to a very happy baby hanging out with Aunts Nikki and Kimmie. After resting for a bit we headed over to the golf outing. Last time I was there I teed off on the back nine and drove my cute little pink golf ball directly into another golfer's cheek. No such injuries occurred this time around. Addison played on her blanket, tried to put mud, dead leaves and a few bugs in her mouth and generally charmed the pants off everyone she encountered. The three of us headed home around 9 p.m.; Addison was asleep before we got out of the parking lot.

We're going to head out car shopping today and try to enjoy a few more hours of nice weather before the storms head back in.
Tomorrow we become home owners....instead of going out for a celebratory dinner I think we'll send the state of Indiana a nice check. Damn.

Another weekend away

Well, I am off to South Haven, MI for Ali's wedding shower. Being that we are going to be at the cottage I am sure that this will be anything but a tame wedding shower. Addison is staying home with Daddy once again...we just didn't think she was emotionally prepared for the debauchery of a cottage weekend.
I'll be driving back home on Sunday. Andy is playing in the annual George Wechsler Memorial Golf Outing Sunday. Essentially, he is celebrating George's memory by golfing 18 holes, drinking a lot of beer and enjoying the Cincinnati weather. I thought it might be in Addie's best interest if I were to come home and not make her negotiate an inebriated dad. Andy's had a hell of week at work and he deserves a little misbehaving time.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone...I can't believe that May is already ending and we are headed full force into summer. By this time next week Andy & I will be home owners, finally we will get to feel settled in.

The music is hokey, but here's a great recap of our May... Life is so hard in the 'Nati.