Starbucks and the DMV

I lost my drivers license somewhere in LAX. Super annoying. I hate the DMV and it isn't something you can do on the web. I was, however, pleasantly surprised that I could make an appointment to replace it just 3 days later.

This morning Lily and I ran a few errands and having time to spare before my 11:30 appointment, I drove through Starbucks for a yummy blended drink. Lily is still adjusting to the late nights of travel and the fourth of July and was getting restless and tired by this time. To avoid a meltdown in the DMV I handed her my beverage. She was mostly chewing on the straw and pushing it up and down to make that annoying straw sound. Whatever, the annoying straw was much less painful than the shrieks of a two year old. As I stood in line chatting with the guy in front of me about how you always have to share whatever you are eating when your child is around, a woman behind me tapped me on the shoulder. The conversation went a little like this;

Woman: Can I be a concerned grandma right now?
Me: Ok? (What would you have done if I politely declined?)
Woman: Is there caffeine in that drink? (As she points to the grande frappuccino my child is holding.)
Me: Yes.
Woman: Are you aware of how terrible caffeine is for children?
Me: Yes, but the tantrum that she would be throwing right now is not worth it. (Do you really think I bought my daughter a grande coffee and she has already consumed half of it?)

At this point another woman came to my rescue and told the lady that she wasn't really drinking it but playing with the straw.

Now lets asses the situation. In no particular order;
1) If my child were eating a Twinkie would you have interrupted? Probably not, but the amount of corn sweeteners, artificial flavorings, artificial colors, preservatives, or the other 37 ingredients found in the snack cake, I believe, are much more harmful that the two sips of my coffee drink. And what about if it were a soda? Are you at all concerned with the ingredients in that, or just the caffeine? Although, an iced coffee would have probably been a better choice for even me with fewer ingredients than the frappuccino . . .
2) Why on earth would you critique a strangers parenting practices in the DMV, of all places? And that's what you are ultimately doing, lady; critiquing my parenting. Can't you do what the rest of us do and judge in silence?
3) A concerned Grandma? You aren't MY Grandma!
4) How did you really expect me to respond? "Oh my goodness, I had no idea! Let me rip this out of her hands and have her watch me throw it in the trash!"

Sigh. Okay, done with my rant. And I was in and out of the DMV in twenty minutes, yay!

New York Swimming

When we took Lily swimming in Las Vegas earlier this summer, she hated it. She wouldn't get in the water, or really anywhere near it. Yet for some reason, she was fascinated by the pool in New York. There was nothing special about it; a large rectangle that at the deep end was only 5 feet. The second night after dinner she walked circles around the pool. She got her feet in but didn't really want water above her ankles.

The following afternoon, after naps, we went out for a walk thinking she would do the same. The water was quite cool, but she got in another step and splashed and kicked and stomped around.

Daddy ran upstairs, put on his suit, and brought Lily's down for her. She fussed some, but overall loved playing in the water with her daddy.

Can you tell I said "Say cheese?"

Rosamond Gifford Zoo

On Friday, Kevin finished class around noon. We picked him up and went around the corner to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. It was the perfect size for us! We got to see everything and weren't exhausted when we were finished. We bought our lunch in and sat at the picnic area before we started our little self guided tour.

When we got to the penguins it was feeding time! They were diving in and jumping out of the water so quickly.
Lily really loved them. Except, she kept calling them "fishy." In her defense, it was a little desceptive with the view of the big tank.

She wasn't as interested in the elephants as she was the steps. She, of course, made a friend, and they climbed up and down the stairs. I really think she is an extrovert.

As most cats do, the Tigers were sleeping when we arrived. It was pretty warm out, too. Lily said "kitty, kitty" repeatedly and made sure to tell anyone that came around that the kitty said "meow" (or "m'yow" as she says it.)

More meowing at the snow leopard.

But the water bottle was much more entertaining than the sleeping cat.

She choked on the water. It was pretty funny.

Even Mommy and Daddy survived the heat.

Creek Walk and More Ice Cream

There really isn't a ton to do in Syracuse. At least not for a toddler. They have a couple of museums, but nothing that would be able to hold her attention. So most days Lily and I didn't really do anything. I (and she) had a rough time with the time difference. I couldn't fall asleep at night, and then we had to be up around 6 am to take Kevin to class, so Lily and I came home and took a 2 hour morning nap. But the cycle was the same; if I napped, I couldn't sleep at night. I finally stopped napping and it helped . . . a little . . . but not enough.

Lily and I explored the grocery store one morning, and the dollar store for some new entertainment the next. We got a puzzle and a coloring book and a spinning top; it had a princess on it and she just loved it.

After dinner one evening we went down the harbor of Onondaga Lake to the Creek Walk. It wasn't amazing but it was a nice walk into town along the creek. But by the time we got to the edge of town, we really needed to use a restroom and couldn't fine one, so we headed back. Being a little further north, the sun doesn't really set here until almost 9 pm. It was our first night and we hadn't really adjusted to the time difference so it was nice to get out and enjoy the extra daylight.

After we got back to the hotel we had Lily's new favorite treat; ice cream. We changed it up and little and had chocolate. The picture below is a blurry, but you can tell she has ice cream all over!

New York

Kevin had a class in Syracuse, New York this last week and Lily and I went along. But when we got to LAX at 5:00 am, it looked like Lily and I might be heading east on our own. Lily and I had our boarding passes but Kevin couldn't get his to print. When we finally got to the counter, the agent told Kevin he had a reservation, but no ticket. Somehow the government had not cleared his reservation. Luckily (sort of) we were able to buy the seat that Kevin originally had, and he was able to sit next to Lily and me for the 5 hour flight to NYC. But he wasn't able to book the same flight from NYC to Syracuse. Due to the time crunch with changing the ticket over, he had to book the last leg of the trip as a separate ticket. The agent told him that when we got to JFK he could try to change over to our flight. But with only a thirty minute layover, there was no way he could change the ticket, pick up his suitcase which was only going to JFK, check it back in to Syracuse, and get back on a plane. Fortunately (for Kevin, not Lily,) the plane was delayed 3 hours. So Jet Blue, who was amazing through all of this, fixed everything for us and we were able to get on the same flight.

But what to do with 3 hours in the Jet Blue terminal in JFK? We wandered around. Paid an arm and a leg for some dinner. And walked in circles. After dinner we came across a children's choir group who we on layover as well. And being a choir . . . they, well . . . sang. They were not overly obnoxious and Lily loves music. They just adored her. People kept coming up to take pictures of her.

She started out at the top of the stairs watching the goup . . .


but quickly ended up in the middle of the action. She sang, danced, clapped, and helped conduct.




Overall, for her first flight as a big girl, Lily did pretty well. She has only flown once, and at that time she was only 2 months old. She was up at 4:00 am in order to make it out to LAX and she didn't fall asleep in the car like I thought she would. She took two small 30 minute naps on the first leg and slept the entire 45 minute flight for the second leg. She stayed dry, but then refused to pee in the public restroom. Baby steps. We arrived at our hotel around 9:00 pm local time exhausted and hungry. Lily and I have never did really adjust to the time difference. We'll see how the flight with the Dallas layover goes.