I don't have much in the way of a post for today. We left Canada at 9:30 in the morning yesterday and drove until 11:00 pm at night and when we finally tumbled out of the van in our driveway I think we were all in a state of trip-induced confusion and exhaustion.

If the drive from Raleigh to Rochester was long, the drive from Canada to Raleigh was even LONGER.

And the Blue Ride Parkway is not something you want to hit during the darkest, tiredest part of your trip, after ten hours on the road. [more]

Early Tuesday morning, after we left the hotel, we drove past the hospital where L. was born, almost ten years ago. We'd driven past it on Monday, but didn't have the time to stop in. It was an extra trip that morning--another stop in an already jam-packed day of activities--but when we asked L. if he really wanted to go see the hospital, he emphatically said yes he did. [more]

I tend to over pack snacks and food items for our trips, whether they be by train, plane, or car. I think this stems back to one trip in particular, years ago, when L. was just over a year old. We flew from the States to Athens, Greece, via Berlin. The trip there was fine: we were super-prepared for all eventualities, and had packed lots of munchies and finger foods for L. But something happened on the return--things fell apart in the planning and packing, and I found myself caught woefully unprepared. [more]

L. came home with a rhyme last month--something he picked up from school, although he couldn't say where. It goes something like this:

First is the worst
second is the best
third is the one who gets the treasure chest
fourth is more
fifth is just fine...

and I can't remember the rest of it. The first time we heard it, T. had raced to the table first for dinner when called and L., who was holed up in the office on the computer, had been dead last, as usual.

"I got my plate first!" she announced proudly, in a smug and happy sort of way. [more]

Nine years ago this July we packed up our Dodge Grand Caravan with all the things we couldn't live without for a few weeks (L. was just 11 months old at the time, so you know the back of our van was filled with all sorts of plastic "necessities" in bright primary colors) and we left our home of five years--Rochester, New York, behind. We drove north, to Maryland, so we could spend a few days there before driving south, to North Carolina, where we'd meet up with the moving truck at our new rental home. [more]