Day Camp & Food Allergies - Feeling High Maintainence

As you may have seen from a past post we have been trying out the Weymouth Club.  They offer week-long day camps or you can go for the day.  Today was Mario and Luigi day.  Sean LOVES Mario so I called and signed them up.  I gave them a big "heads up" about my kids food allergies as this was going to be an all day affair with lunch included.  Nolan my 5 yr old would be able to eat the lunch, but Sean would not.  I would have to pack lunch and snacks for Sean because of his multiple food allergies.  I have done this all year for pre-school for Sean but this is a new place where he has never spent the day...this is when my anxiety starts to rise. 

We get there and I bring them in along with epi-pens, special lunch, snacks and a list of the things they are allergic to.  I gave the counselors a run down.  Then I look on the craft table.  On one end everyone is playing with play dough and the other end is doing a craft with stickers.  I had to say "the little one, Sean, can't play with the play dough".  Play dough has wheat in it.  In the past Sean got hives from touching it.  Then I follow with, "oh and my older one, Nolan, he can play with the play dough but he has to wash his hands after".  Ugh, I felt like such high maintenance Mama! 

Don't get me wrong everyone there was so nice about everything which was great because sometimes people look at my like I have three heads.  I hate to draw all this attention to myself and my kids but I know I have to.  It's my job to keep them safe.  I have to swallow my anxiety, put my big girl pants on and make everyone fully aware.  I want my kids to be able to experience the fun that other kids get to.  It just takes a lot of extra work (and worry) on my part and some days it gets to me a little ;) 

OK, I just needed to vent.  Of course I will feel MUCH better when the day is over, everything has gone smooth and the best part-- they tell me how much fun they had.

Nolan and The City - Swan Boats

Last month my Nolan had his tonsils out.  I know, this is a common procedure, but it did take a solid two weeks before Nolan was back to his high-energy self.  There were lots of sleepless nights and lots of tears.  We are so glad that is behind us and hoping for less sickness this winter.  He had eight strep throats and three bouts of pneumonia last winter.

Last week we had to go for a follow-up appointment at Mass Eye & Ear in Boston.  After the appointment I promised Nolan a surprise before we went home.  I told him it was something in one of his books that I used to read to him.  He couldn't guess and was asking all kinds of questions along the way.

We were making our way to the Public Garden.

We got off at Park Street Station and (hurriedly) walked through the Boston Common to get there.  We did stop to get a very cool balloon from the balloon man for a buck!

 A light saber of course.

We finally get to our destination.  It's the Swan Boats!  (Which by the way is only $1.50)

 

Me:  "Well don't you want to go on"?  Nolan:  "Well...Mum, there are no sides on that boat.  I'm not going on that thing".

 I'll just sit on the duck...

 Now Mum you sit on the duck...

Fun With Decoupage Part 3

On my day off I should be doing a million other things but I had the urge to do a little project.  I still had some nice paper hanging around from Paper Source.  Like their motto says "Do Something Creative Everyday" yeah right, I wish!

The kids were in the playroom taking break from the heat, I joined them and took out some supplies for a little decoupage project:

I still can't figure our how to evenly cover the bucket all in one piece.  I played around with cutting pieces of the papers, patched them together and this is what I came up with:

 Put it outside to dry...didn't take long in this heat. 

 

Easy Breezy Cape Cod

This past weekend one of my BFFs, Heather, and I took our kids the Cape.  We didn't have a real plan.  We knew we were staying two nights at the Ocean Park Inn in Eastham and at some point on Saturday we were going to Heather's family reunion in Harwichport.  Other than that we decided to fly by the seat of our pants.  This is what I love about Heather, she is so easy to be with and we always have fun.

The kids swam in the outdoor and indoor pools morning, noon and night.  We did bumper boats, beaches, trampolines, go-carts, more beaches, more bumper boats and arcades. 

We also ate out.  In this case not planning ahead for a child with food allergies makes me nervous. This is something you really can't be easy breezy about.  I did have back up food in the cooler if there wasn't something that I thought was safe for Sean.  I think because Cape Cod is such a summer tourist attraction almost everywhere we went had a sign posted that said "please inform your server if there is a food allergy in your party".  Sometimes I feel like they put this sign up as if to say "if you have an allergy there is really nothing you can eat here ".  This was not the case at the Fairway in North Eastham.  The manager came out and asked me thoughtful questions.  She told us how they would safely cook Sean's food.  They were so welcoming and understanding.

Although after a few root beers it got a little rowdy!

More pictures from our mini vacation:

Plenty of movies for the ride down.

Sean at the outdoor pool.

The indoor pool...

The beautiful beach in Harwichport.

The go-carts in Harwich.

The bumper boats in Harwichport.

The trampolines in Harwichport.

We took a tram-like shuttle to Coast Guard Beach, located in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

This beach was beautiful and the waves were awesome.

The Red Barn - a great place for lunch, arcades and a beer (located within walking distance from our hotel).  Sean was able to eat here too!

and more bumper boats...

Great fun, great weather, great friends...all around greatness.

Contact info for all the places we went:
http://www.capecodopi.com/
http://www.fairwaycapecod.com/
http://www.theredbarnpizza.com/
Buds Go Karts - 9 Sisson Road, Harwich, MA
Grand Slam Entertainment - 322 Main Street, Harwichport, MA
Trampoline Center, 296 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwichport, MA

Our Escape to Martha's Vineyard

Since becoming parents my husband Mike and I look forward to our one night (kid-free) escape to Martha's Vineyard each summer. 

We boarded the Island Queen Ferry in Falmouth.  I like taking this smaller ferry out of Falmouth rather than the big Steamship Authority out of Woodshole.  The Steamship Authority boats are bigger, you can bring your car on them (with advanced reservation) and they run more often, but they are really crowded and have alot of closed-in areas.  These closed-in areas make me seasick.  Also before you get to the boat you have to park your car in a parking lot miles away and take a long bus ride to the dock.  So before I am even seasick, I am carsick! LOL.  I guess you could say I have transportation issues.  Anyway, the Island Queen is small but very open and the parking is within walking distance.  No offense to the ole Steamship Authority but the Island Queen works better for us.

Upon arriving on the island we took a short bus ride (no, thankfully I did not get bus sick) to Edgartown. 

For this trip, rather than be our usual gluttonous selves, (we usually walk around stopping to eat, drink, eat, drink, then eat some more and drink some more) our plan was to go for a bike ride.

We did rent bikes but we needed to do a few things first.  A little bit of eating and drinking (always looking for a balance).

Lunch at the Seafood Shanty...so good.  Salad with Lobster and Mike had steamers and chowdah!

Check-in to our hotel...
This year we are very excited to stay at the Vineyard Square Hotel.  Two summers ago we dined at the amazing Chesca's which is a part of this lovely hotel.  I remember peeking in the lobby thinking, I would love to stay here.

Vincent at the front desk was extremely welcoming and helpful, as was the rest of staff.

Full of charm and history, this hotel is 100 years old. 

Formerly known as The Colonial Inn, The Vineyard Square has been tastefully updated without losing the character of the original hotel. 

Our cozy room

The view from the deck...so relaxing sitting up here...

The absolute best part of this hotel is the LOCATION!  We could walk to everything.  It's right in the heart of Edgartown but very quiet and sooo relaxing.

 There is a spa...next time for sure.

There is also a gym, yeah I didn't go in there.

OUR BIKE ADVENTURE

Mike on a bike

We took a small barge-like ferry over to Chappaquiddick.

 

We rode out to Chappaquiddick's South Beach.  Round trip it was about 8 miles. 

I seriously can not remember the last time I was on a bike.  I occasionally ride the stationary bike at the gym but as far as riding a bicycle, I swear it's been at least 18 years.  But as they say "it's just like riding a bike".  I was doing pretty good until I hit a bumpy dirt road going down hill....eeek!  And then there was the swishy sandy road...OMG.

 But it was worth it as this was the most scenic part of the ride...

We arrived at this beautiful beach and cooled off.

On the way back...

Chappaquiddick Beach Club

I love the old fashioned beach huts.

I called home to check-in.  When I told my 5 year old I went for a bike ride, he was astonished and said "You did?  Did you have training wheels?" 

Then back to eating/drinking:  We had a fancy smance dinner at Alchemy...at which I got a burger, LOL. 

Got an ice cream at Mad Martha's and called it a night (yes we are getting old). 

Then the next day it was time to get back to reality...

One last stop before getting on the boat home -Captain Fishbones in Oak Bluffs.

Good bye Martha's Vineyard see you next year.

 We had to get back home to mini Darth Vader...

 and my little couch burrito...I really did miss them ;)