Ethan Michael Follick arrives

My new nephew.

Isn't he cute!

Salem Harbor Today

Today we went on a tour of Salem and Marblehead Harbor. Again, very educational.

Salem Trolley

If ever you are in Salem, you should ride the City View Trolley. The drivers are great. Mark and I spent the day touring Salem on the trolley. We both learned alot.

A day in the office

I love my job. The advantage of working in a small firm that has grown, is that you can jump in and substitute in for positions you once had. Like today. Our funding coordinator, Barbara, was out all week, sick. The poor thing. Yours truly got a chance to visit her old position of funding coordinator, while also balancing her own duties. Phew. Let me say, I like visiting it, but not while I have my own duties. I did a good job today.

Looking forward to a week of vacation next week. We get to meet Baby Ethan, Dave and Erica's new son!

The Beach!

I got to go to the beach! At last! A gorgeous day!

Mark

Hey, just realized all the photos in my blog are of Naomi. Here is Mark in the Prius riding home from a day on the North Shore.

Another great weekend! Took Mark to the Peabody Essex Museum. Then on Sunday we went into Boston to the swan boats. It was a gorgeous weather day!!!!!

The kids loved taking the train. We also walked up Newbury Street.

At the Common there was a reinactment of the revolutionary war in complete costumes. Very hot if you ask me!

BITC BBQ

It is with great wonder, that I post, that I attended the BITC (Daycare) BBQ with both kids alone. First, that is a great feat in itself, since the park that the BBQ is held at borders the Charles River, and Naomi did NOT dive into the river (a fear of mine). And both kids were VERY well behaved. My biggest awe moment came when talking to a new BITC parent. I have been a BITC parent since 2002, and will continue to do so until Naomi goes into KINDY in Sept 2011. We will be at BITC 9 years!!!!

This year will be a hard year to move on, since one of Naomi's teachers was Mark's infant teacher and older infant teacher. We know that (a) I am not having more children and (b) that this is the last week of her teaching one of my children. She is a FABULOUS teacher. She has two wonderful children. I feel very close with her and she is a great teacher. I just think about in Aug 2011 when after 9 years I have to say goodbye. Obviously I have three more years to go, but still, the end is only three years away.

The staff (director, assistant director, teachers) have been wonderful for each of my two children, and I am lucky to have found Angier School and Meadowbrook Day Camp as wonderful as BITC. BITC has set a high standard for future people that care for my children.

A Trip to the Museum of Science

Mark and I spent over four hours there. We saw the BASEBALL IN AMERICA exhibit and an OMNI movie. Had a great time.

Holy Smokes! We have a jumper!

Naomi can now JUMP into the pool with no need for an adult to hold her hands!

Watch out world!

Things to do

How am I supposed to figure out what size pant Mark is. He hates trying on clothes. He is small, and thin. Last spring his pants were either too big in the waist or too long in length. He had no really good fitting pants.

I also have to get his suit out too. That won't be fun.

Naomi will be a breeze. She loves clothes!

And new shoes for the crew.

And who knows what school supplies. We got the general first grade listing already. The teacher specific list comes out August 28-ish.

Housekeeping

Sometimes I wonder what my daughter is thinking. She thinks that you should vacuum with high heels. I have never done such a thing. She insists on taking off her sandals, and putting on her dress up shoes.

I guess What Not To Wear should film her doing housework.

We spent $150 yesterday (m)

and had TWO very tired children. It was fabulous!!! We spent from 11 AM to 8 something PM at the amusement park. We paid for admission, lunch, ice cream and dinner. We played at Castaway Island and had a blast.

Too bad I am so tired today.

Family Estate Planning Law Group

I can't believe I have been working for Vinnie since October, 1996, but I have. I have learned so much over those years. Here is what I really enjoy. Helping families. I get to know our clients, and I am always sad to hear about the death of one of our clients. I try to attend the funeral or wake, and I get to know them even better. I do enjoy helping the loved ones out after the death, and realizing that they created a plan to help their families, and they have elected our firm to help them.

Many people wonder why I work with "death" and "taxes." I don't. I work with families. That is the part I love.

Girls Night Out

Ahhh, these nights are great, when other women I know gather at a place to eat and swap stories. Sometimes you don't even realize how long it has been!!!!!!! Adam has movie night at our house with his friends, but somehow I need to listen and talk to my friends. I appreciate that we each have our own way of hanging out with friends.