Peter’s Posterous

Just discovered I could browse The Big Picture using Cooliris. WIN!

So, overall today went pretty well. It was definitely a learning experience for how to spend another whole day with Catherine, and the management techniques that are involved. I was remarking to Rebecca (who, with Esme, is safely home from NJ) that there was nothing really *bad* about the day. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot. It was just really exhausting, and Catherine kept me on my toes all day.

We started off the day rather early, when Catherine abandoned her bed in favor of mine around 3am. We got back to sleep, but by 6:30 she had kicked and pushed me enough so that I was out of bed. And then she got out of bed. Since we didn't have to leave for church until 9:30ish, we had plenty of time to kill. So we watched some TV and did some internet surfing, got showered and dressed, and headed out to church.

After church, Catherine and I headed out on our adventure for the day. First, we drove to Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Swampscott. It's a relatively new restaurant in the area, part of a larger East Coast chain. They had truly tasty burgers and fries, definitely good enough to rival In-N-Out Burger for those of us on the East Cost who don't have access to said chain. We were fortunate to run into Liz, a friend from Build Guild who had recommended the restaurant a few days earlier and was there with her son (who is just a few months older than Catherine) getting lunch. We had lunch together and had a nice chat about life with three-year-olds.

Catherine and I then got back into the car and drove along Route 1A, out of Swampscott and through Lynn and Revere, before coming to Boston. We headed into South Boston and finally got to our destination, Castle Island. Now, I hadn't done a whole lot of research beforehand (a few Tweets and @ replies this morning), so I had no idea that Castle Island was such a destination. The place was PACKED. But it was a very cool place. Lots of paths to walk on, great ocean views, a nice playground, and views of Logan Airport. Catherine was mostly interested in the playground, but we did get to see a few planes landing. I think we'll definitely have to come back with the whole familiy at some point.

I had told Catherine we could get an ice cream cone at Castle Island's snack stand before we left, but when we arrived we saw that there were about 30 people in line, and we weren't going to wait in the heat for that. So I made the call to head into the car and perhaps get some ice cream on the way home. To put it mildly, Catherine wasn't down with that, but I muscled her into the car, and she fell asleep soon after we hit the road. However, I wanted to stay true to my word, so we stopped at the McDonald's on Route 1 North and I woke her up to have an ice cream cone there. She also wanted a chocolate milk after the ice cream, so I gave her the money for that and let her do the ordering herself. It was pretty cute to see her up at the counter interacting with everyone. :-)

After McDonald's, we drove back towards Danvers, and Catherine expressed a desire to see the animals at Brooksby Farm, so we made a quick stop there to see some sheep and baby chicks. Then we made a quick stop at home to clean up, and went out for our last father-daughter outing of the weekend, a dinner at The 99.

As we finished up, I was actually feeling a bit sad that I had to give her up... it has been a challenging, educational, but fun weekend with her. I have a renewed respect for Rebecca and what she has to handle on an average day, especially considering that she also has housework AND a three month old to take care of on top of it! She is truly a super woman! And I'm glad that she and Esme are home. :-)

Photos from Saturday are here.
Photos from Sunday are here.

Our big Saturday is winding down. We had a great trip to Endicott Park. We had a little
picnic by the pond, watched some geese, and then went to play on the
big playground. My only gripe with this playground is that it is
covered with SAND. Bah! I can understand having a sandbox, but it's
kind of a bother for the whole thing to be covered with sand. I'd
rather it be mulch, or even better, those squishy tiles. But anyway,
the playground was good, and then we went to see the farm animals.
There weren't too many to be found, but Catherine did enjoy seeing the
chickens and some sheep and bunnies. After the farm animals, we got
back in the car and drove down to the Friendly's in Danvers. We waited
in line for a half hour or so, and finally got our ice cream.
Catherine had mint chocolate chip and I had Reese's peanut butter cup.
We sat out on a grassy hill behind the restaurant (a surprisingly
pleasant place to sit, in such a commercial area) and Catherine had
her ice cream and rolled around in the grass with the scads of other
kids. Finally, we got back in the car (after some rather vocal
protest) and headed home. Catherine did some painting and watched Pocoyo while I got the hot
dogs and beans ready (yes, two nights in a row, but at less than $8
for two dinners, why not?). We ate our dinner outside, and now we're
back inside winding things down for the day. Catherine is having a
tubbath and I'm taking a minute to sit down.
 
After spending an entire day trying to keep Catherine happy, safe,
clothed and fed, I have a much greater appreciation for what Rebecca
goes through, only she does it with TWO girls AND with lots of other
chores to do. Sheesh!
 
Hopefully we'll wind up the bedtime routine before it gets too late,
then I'll probably collapse in bed.
 
Tomorrow we'll be at church in the morning, and then Catherine and I
will find some things to do before Rebecca and Esme get home in the
evening. Phew!