Already Feeling Easier
Anna has now been attending Step by Step for a couple weeks. She's still in transition, but things have gotten much better for her and for me. She's not crying every morning when she's dropped off, and she lets us leave things there (like her indoor shoes and a change of clothes) without insisting we bring them home at night. She now seems to understand this is her place during the day--she's not going to Marion's house anymore. Slowly we've been hearing about other kids and activities, though she always claims she forgets what she had for lunch. Yesterday when I picked her up she said "Buenos dias!" to me. Sweet girl.
And as I expected it would, the transition has been good for me workwise. Every day I stay at least an extra half hour or forty-five minutes at work compared to my schedule before. I feel less pressure to bring work home, I get practically all of what I need to do done during the time I'm at work. Now I just need to be better prepared when Anna and I get home, as now it's closer to 6 o'clock instead of 5 o'clock and Anna is usually starving.
It's hard to believe our vacation to Quebec has already been a month ago. I'd always thought of Montreal as a romantic, interesting city though I couldn't quite say why. The French-ness? The history? I was excited to go and find out what Montreal was like.
We flew from Minneapolis to Burlington, Vermont and from there rented a car to drive to Montreal, about an hour drive away. Such a gorgeous drive and Lake Champlain was just stunning. We met Edwin's parents at the hotel, they were staying exactly 3 floors below us and from there most of our activities were together. We spent time walking in the old city with its cobblestone streets and grand old buildings. As usual, we took a horse carriage tour, something it seems we've done in most cities we've visited (Charleston, Savannah, Brugge). We spent time along the waterfront, and the other days we were there we went to the Olympic village area (summer1976) with the Biodome and the scenic overlook, etc. The last day we were there we drove to the top of the mountain and spent time walking around and enjoying the view of the city below.
After our days in Montreal we then drove to Mont Tremblant, a resort about a two hour drive from Montreal. Again, stunning scenery along the way and definitely in resort territory. In the winter, Mont Tremblant is a ski resort but in the summer it reverts to activities such as biking, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and many other things as well as shopping, live music and different festivals and events in its touristy village. Shopping, restaurants, and even a small movie theater were all within a short walking distance. Anyone could ride a gondola from the top to the bottom of the mountain if wanting to avoid the steep sidewalks. My activities were limited as I was usually the one to be with Anna during her naps but I enjoyed the shopping and picked up a couple things. Overall it was lovely and relaxing, and who's to complain when every night we go out for a nice dinner with wine? The weather wasn't so great but a vacation is a vacation is a vacation. We made the best of it.
Generally my activities were somewhat limited with Anna but overall it was a lovely and relaxing time. No day at an art museum for me anymore! Oh well. But, at least when I was at our hotel room I watched some good television. I got totally hooked on HGTV and its home decorating and selling shows. Also, I caught two very interesting episodes of Oprah--one where she interviewed the family from Little People, Big World (a reality show which I've never seen but follows a family of little people) and a show where she interviewed guests who are intersex and also interviewed Jeffery Eugenides, the author of Middlesex. Fascinating.
And now we're back with no upcoming vacation in sight. At least not for me, anyway. It's been trickier for me to moniter my vacation time, as now it accrues over the year instead of us getting our allotment right away on January 1. Sigh. Well, one could guess that sooner or later that particular rule was going to change, and it finally did. I'm looking forward to fall.
Anna has now been attending Step by Step for a couple weeks. She's still in transition, but things have gotten much better for her and for me. She's not crying every morning when she's dropped off, and she lets us leave things there (like her indoor shoes and a change of clothes) without insisting we bring them home at night. She now seems to understand this is her place during the day--she's not going to Marion's house anymore. Slowly we've been hearing about other kids and activities, though she always claims she forgets what she had for lunch. Yesterday when I picked her up she said "Buenos dias!" to me. Sweet girl.
And as I expected it would, the transition has been good for me workwise. Every day I stay at least an extra half hour or forty-five minutes at work compared to my schedule before. I feel less pressure to bring work home, I get practically all of what I need to do done during the time I'm at work. Now I just need to be better prepared when Anna and I get home, as now it's closer to 6 o'clock instead of 5 o'clock and Anna is usually starving.
It's hard to believe our vacation to Quebec has already been a month ago. I'd always thought of Montreal as a romantic, interesting city though I couldn't quite say why. The French-ness? The history? I was excited to go and find out what Montreal was like.
We flew from Minneapolis to Burlington, Vermont and from there rented a car to drive to Montreal, about an hour drive away. Such a gorgeous drive and Lake Champlain was just stunning. We met Edwin's parents at the hotel, they were staying exactly 3 floors below us and from there most of our activities were together. We spent time walking in the old city with its cobblestone streets and grand old buildings. As usual, we took a horse carriage tour, something it seems we've done in most cities we've visited (Charleston, Savannah, Brugge). We spent time along the waterfront, and the other days we were there we went to the Olympic village area (summer1976) with the Biodome and the scenic overlook, etc. The last day we were there we drove to the top of the mountain and spent time walking around and enjoying the view of the city below.
After our days in Montreal we then drove to Mont Tremblant, a resort about a two hour drive from Montreal. Again, stunning scenery along the way and definitely in resort territory. In the winter, Mont Tremblant is a ski resort but in the summer it reverts to activities such as biking, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and many other things as well as shopping, live music and different festivals and events in its touristy village. Shopping, restaurants, and even a small movie theater were all within a short walking distance. Anyone could ride a gondola from the top to the bottom of the mountain if wanting to avoid the steep sidewalks. My activities were limited as I was usually the one to be with Anna during her naps but I enjoyed the shopping and picked up a couple things. Overall it was lovely and relaxing, and who's to complain when every night we go out for a nice dinner with wine? The weather wasn't so great but a vacation is a vacation is a vacation. We made the best of it.
Generally my activities were somewhat limited with Anna but overall it was a lovely and relaxing time. No day at an art museum for me anymore! Oh well. But, at least when I was at our hotel room I watched some good television. I got totally hooked on HGTV and its home decorating and selling shows. Also, I caught two very interesting episodes of Oprah--one where she interviewed the family from Little People, Big World (a reality show which I've never seen but follows a family of little people) and a show where she interviewed guests who are intersex and also interviewed Jeffery Eugenides, the author of Middlesex. Fascinating.
And now we're back with no upcoming vacation in sight. At least not for me, anyway. It's been trickier for me to moniter my vacation time, as now it accrues over the year instead of us getting our allotment right away on January 1. Sigh. Well, one could guess that sooner or later that particular rule was going to change, and it finally did. I'm looking forward to fall.
posted by Anna's Mommy at
8:26 PM
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