is patience a virtue?

Here is your math problem of the day. Maple House + three hungry children + two tour busses of elderly Quebecians + one lactating friend on a schedule =your answer here. If I could only describe the true fortitude of what our encounter was I would be oh so happy. My BFF pick the boys and me up for breakfast this morning, wooing us with all the Maple House had to offer. "They make their own Maple Coffee. They infuse the beans with maple syrup." I was instantly hooked after that first comment. The also had a sugarhouse (where they make the maple syrup) and a store called the Sugar Shack. Personally, I think the 'Sugar Shack' sounds like a strip club or adult movie but it was, in fact, a shack filled with all things sugar and maple. We arrived with three hungry children, my two boys plus her 18-month-old son, and our own ravenous appetites. I had been salivating for the coffee from the time she picked me up from the hotel and already had my 'it's 9 am and I haven't had coffee headache' going. The place was in the middle of nowhere in the back woods of Nashua/ Amherst. It didn't appear crowded when we were first seated.... but then the tour buses arrived. Q-tips and grey hairs were everywhere. We were being invaded!! The waitress brought two coloring books to our table to amuse our children while she sat the masses. The only problem with that was she brought a Sesame Street (fine for the younger two) and a Disney Princess book. Drake and Grady made quite the faces at the pink embodied book of ‘all that is girl’. We pitched the princess book and divvied up the Sesame Street pages. After an excruciatingly long wait we were finally served. As a side note - the coffee was too die for!! The boys did as well as any caged and hungry animal can do but after all the sugary goodness started to digest, they needed to run off some of that extra energy before our car ride back. BFF and I on the other hand, were in a food-induced coma state and ready for a well-deserved nap.

We took a quick walk through the sugarhouse and saw how they make maple syrup. I loved the smell of the wood burning and the slight sweet tinge in the air.

The boys liked swinging with Anthony and crossing the covered troll bridge. I had to indulge in a bag of the maple coffee and entered the Sugar Shack with the idea that I would run in and run out with my purchase. Ann's milk was dropping and well, that just isn't a good thing when babycakes is at home with her Daddy, probably staring to wail and fuss. What I entered instead of the Sugar Shack was the Twilight Zone for the elderly. And not just any elderly – French speaking Q-tips. They were bickering over the prices, the lines, the lack of bathrooms, the lack of pink stained glass dragonflies window hangings and so on and so forth. And so, my mantra began. “Some day I too will be old and crotchety, some day I too will be old and crotchety.” Because of their excessive scrutiny, it was taking forever to purchase my two bags of coffee. I tried my best to hold my tongue and not go postal on the two old ladies in front of me when they couldn’t decide between the ‘Kim’ or ‘Kimberly’ sleigh ornament. I think it went like this, “Her real name is Kimberly.” “Yes, but doesn’t she go by Kim?” “Oh yes… which do you think she would like?” “I’m not sure. Maybe her real name…. but she does have everyone call her Kim…” “I think I will get her the Kim. Hmmmm, or maybe the Kimberly?” At this point I am doing all I can to not scream out “Stop the insanity!!! It is a $2.00 ornament for Pete’s sake!! Buy both!” I chose instead to bang my head against the cute little maple plaque with Pope John Paul on it. I made it out alive, battered and bruised, but alive and bearing coffee. I cannot say the same for some of the others. All in all it really was a fantastic time. Anytime with BFF is well spent. Though trying to sop up runny boobs the whole way back was quite the challenge!

sharks and turtles and dragons oh my!

I guess I should also add tourettes to the title as well cause nothing says public transportation like a run in with a person with tourettes. This man was spewing his rant, filled with so many nice words, that it even made a potty mouth like me blush. He was throwing around the F bomb and C word like "the" and "is". Grady's eyes grew big and in his oh so quiet two year old voice bellowed, "Ooooo Momma, he's a bad guy!!!" And he said it not once but twice. I can say for certain that one of those C words was directed at my loud-mouthed child and me. But on a whole I love Boston. I could wrap my arms around it and never leave. Because if was 60 and sunny we decided to take the boys to the aquarium.


Because schools in Massachusetts were not on break, there were no lines or crowds at the Aquarium. Grady wanted to see the sharks and the octopus while Drake was making a B line towards the penguins.

The aquarium is in the middle and you walk around, up in a spiral, to see all the different fish and sea life and exhibits. I really liked the fact that there were a lot of opportunities to see all the fish and we never felt crowded or rushed to move out of the way for someone else.

Drake got to hold a baby Chinese sea crab. I thought baby looked like she would have made a good meal but Mom and Dad can grow anywhere from 10 - 12 feet around. Now that would be a meal!!!

Grady loved seeing the sea turtles. They even had a baby one that looked like Squirt in Finding Nemo. I have to admit that the two older turtles that swam with ease through the tank fascinated me. Their shells were beautiful and their faces looked soft and kind. The boys and I also loved the huge jellyfish exhibit. I never knew there were so many different species, shapes and sizes. Glad they were behind the tank and not in my local swimming hole!

And of course, no trip to the wharf is complete without a trip to Legal Seafood. Drake asked if we were eating any of the fish from the aquarium to which I chuckled. "No honey. These fish come in on the ships in the harbor." "But this restaurant is right next door to the aquarium. Kind of fishy." Yeah I know, he is a laugh riot. His curiosity about the acquisition of fish grew as he completed the "secret code" game on the kids me. "See Mom...it says 'If it's not fresh it's not legal'. Are they getting the fish illegally? Why would they put that as the secret code?" I tried to explain that it was a play on words and that nothing was obtained illegally, at least to my knowledge. I don't think my explanation worked but at least I got to finish my chowder.