Yesterday Carter and I went to the Mother Goose class for the first time. Amy and Caitlyn go all the time and it was about time we joined them!
The program is held twice a month at a church near our house. We crashed the old kids class at 9 am (it's supposed to be for 18 to 30 month olds) since that's the one that Amy goes to with Caitlyn. I was really impressed by the program (especially since it's free!).
Since it was our first time there, I was given a binder with information and the lyrics for all the rhymes and songs that are sung in the class (along with a CD).
While we were waiting for the class to start and everyone to show up, they played some music in the classroom. Carter has gotten more confidence lately and stood in the middle of the room dancing while all the other kids pretty much stayed by their moms.
Since Easter is just around the corner, they started off with pictures with the Easter Bunny. The kids had mixed reactions, of course. Carter did fine. I stood next to him as he sat on the Bunny's lap chewing on his fingers. He didn't get upset but he wasn't very excited about it either. We are supposed to be given the prints at the next program we attend.
Next the instructors (there were 3) did some rhymes and then handed out maracas. There weren't any organized playing of the instruments. Just some music in the background and have fun shaking! Once the maracas got collected (Carter willing put his in the bag - wow!), we did some more rhymes. Carter wasn't too interested in sitting with me but there were a few other wanders in the room. Carter found a buddy (another boy around 20 months old) and they would give each other little hugs or just stand next to one another leaning into each other. It was very cute. Carter tried being social with a few other kids but they weren't interested (they seemed scared even though Carter was tinier).
Then they brought out bubbles for us to play with. Carter and Caitlyn really liked having us blow bubbles at them. I've never seen Caitlyn so happy!
After some more rhymes and songs, we finished up. The instructors dumped a bunch of balls in the center of the room and the kids got to toss them around. Carter liked throwing the balls while Caitlyn liked collecting as many as she could hold.
Carter had so much fun. He was very social with the other kids. He was probably the youngest in the class but all the kids weren't much older than him so they weren't much bigger (and none of them smaller). It was really neat to see him try to interact with other kids.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Carter's New Room
Here are some pictures of Carter's new room. So far the paint is done and we have all the main furniture. We are waiting on the crib sheet to arrive in the mail and I need to print some pictures to put in all the silver frames I bought. I need to hem the crib skirt (if it matches the crib sheet, otherwise I need to find something different). Maybe tomorrow I'll start moving some of Carter's books, toys, and clothes. I'm shopping around for a little soft chair for the corner near Carter's bookcase and Brian is considering building Carter a table and chairs instead of us buying a set.
To see the layout of the room, go back to this POST.
To see the layout of the room, go back to this POST.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
San Francisco - Day 3 - California Academy of Sciences
Wednesday (March 3rd) was forecast to be another rainy day with rain in both the morning and afternoon. I decided to take Carter to the California Academy of Sciences located in Golden Gate Park for the day so we could avoid the bad weather.
Carter woke up around 5 am and I finally got him around 5:30 am. When he got up, Brian called Dollar's customer service and was told we could go to any Dollar office to add me to the car rental agreement (they needed to see my license and couldn't add me over the phone). There was an office downtown near the Moscone Center so we decided that would be easier than going back to the airport.
As soon as Brian was ready, we headed downtown early so that Brian could still be at his conference by 8 am. Luckily it didn't take too long at the Dollar office and Brian was on time. Since I didn't have time to give Carter a bath or finish getting ready myself, Carter and I headed back to the hotel. Carter got a good morning nap and slept most of the way to and from downtown.
The California Academy of Sciences opened at 10 am and we got there just a little after it opened. The first thing we did was watch the penguin feeding. This isn't a very good picture, but Carter liked watching the birds swim around.
Carter liked the rest of the African Hall in the natural history area which was a bunch of model animals (like lions, zebras, and antelope) displayed in what looked liked a natural habitat. He kept pointing and screaming at them.
Next we went to the aquarium section. It was really crowded. There were a lot of school groups at the museum which made dragging around the stroller and trying to chase Carter almost impossible. There was lots of complaining as I tried to carry him around. We took our time though and Carter still enjoyed sections of the aquarium.
My favorite exhibit was the moray eels. Usually there is just one at an aquarium in an exhibit with other fish but they had at least 20 in this one exhibit. They were really neat looking.
Carter and I took a break after the aquarium to eat lunch in the piazza. Carter was being really silly during lunch and showing off for people around us. He is so shy if someone comes up to him and gives him direct attention, but he'll show off and try to get someone's attention before and after they try to interact with him.
After lunch we headed up to the roof to check out the Living Roof since there was a break in the rain. Carter loved climbing all over the railings in the viewing area. It was really cold though and there was a lot of complaining when I decided it was time to move on. But Carter had fun while he was up there!
After the Living Roof, we went into the rainforest dome.
There were butterflies and parrots along with the plants in the dome. I wasn't really all that impressed and Carter didn't seem to be either.
We tried to go to the planetarium next but they don't allow kids under 4 into the show. I think Carter would have been fine though.
So we moved on to the Early Explorers Cove which is the children's play area. Carter had a lot of fun playing in the garden and on the ship. We had the most fun though with a wooden spoon and bowl he found in the kitchen section. He carried that around with him for a long time.
Around 2 pm we had to head out because our 4 hours of free street parking in the park was up. I took a quick picture of Carter with the dinosaur as we were leaving ...
Since it was raining a lot, I decided that I would let Carter take a nap in the car and then we'd head back into the museum until Brian was ready to be picked up. I was hoping the school groups would be gone by then and I'd be able to let Carter explore a little more.
So I drove around the park a little and Carter fell asleep. I parked near the museum again and caught up on some email on my phone. Once Carter woke up, I gave him a snack and we headed back into the museum.
It was so much nicer in the late afternoon! It seemed empty compared to earlier in the day. I ended up letting Carter run around the aquarium for about an hour going from exhibit to exhibit. He had so much fun and didn't bother anyone since there were so few people there.
Carter was enjoying running his hand along the wall as he walked from exhibit to exhibit. Once there were people in his way and he started grunting at them like he does to Brian and me to move out of his way. They didn't seem to notice but it was funny to watch Carter try to communicate what he wanted to other people.
After the aquarium we walked through some of the exhibits we missed in the morning (including this albino alligator) before heading out to pick up Brian.
We spent another 1 1/2 hours at the museum. It was a big place, but if I wasn't trying to stretch the visit to take up the entire day, you could probably see everything in 2-3 hours.
Once we picked up Brian, we all headed to BJ's Brewhouse for an early dinner. It was a good thing we got there early because by 6 pm, there was a decent wait for a table. Carter did a pretty good job not being too loud during dinner and we were happy to get a good meal.
We headed back to our hotel room and got Carter to sleep on time around 7:30 pm.
Carter woke up around 5 am and I finally got him around 5:30 am. When he got up, Brian called Dollar's customer service and was told we could go to any Dollar office to add me to the car rental agreement (they needed to see my license and couldn't add me over the phone). There was an office downtown near the Moscone Center so we decided that would be easier than going back to the airport.
As soon as Brian was ready, we headed downtown early so that Brian could still be at his conference by 8 am. Luckily it didn't take too long at the Dollar office and Brian was on time. Since I didn't have time to give Carter a bath or finish getting ready myself, Carter and I headed back to the hotel. Carter got a good morning nap and slept most of the way to and from downtown.
The California Academy of Sciences opened at 10 am and we got there just a little after it opened. The first thing we did was watch the penguin feeding. This isn't a very good picture, but Carter liked watching the birds swim around.
Carter liked the rest of the African Hall in the natural history area which was a bunch of model animals (like lions, zebras, and antelope) displayed in what looked liked a natural habitat. He kept pointing and screaming at them.
Next we went to the aquarium section. It was really crowded. There were a lot of school groups at the museum which made dragging around the stroller and trying to chase Carter almost impossible. There was lots of complaining as I tried to carry him around. We took our time though and Carter still enjoyed sections of the aquarium.
My favorite exhibit was the moray eels. Usually there is just one at an aquarium in an exhibit with other fish but they had at least 20 in this one exhibit. They were really neat looking.
Carter and I took a break after the aquarium to eat lunch in the piazza. Carter was being really silly during lunch and showing off for people around us. He is so shy if someone comes up to him and gives him direct attention, but he'll show off and try to get someone's attention before and after they try to interact with him.
After lunch we headed up to the roof to check out the Living Roof since there was a break in the rain. Carter loved climbing all over the railings in the viewing area. It was really cold though and there was a lot of complaining when I decided it was time to move on. But Carter had fun while he was up there!
After the Living Roof, we went into the rainforest dome.
There were butterflies and parrots along with the plants in the dome. I wasn't really all that impressed and Carter didn't seem to be either.
We tried to go to the planetarium next but they don't allow kids under 4 into the show. I think Carter would have been fine though.
So we moved on to the Early Explorers Cove which is the children's play area. Carter had a lot of fun playing in the garden and on the ship. We had the most fun though with a wooden spoon and bowl he found in the kitchen section. He carried that around with him for a long time.
Around 2 pm we had to head out because our 4 hours of free street parking in the park was up. I took a quick picture of Carter with the dinosaur as we were leaving ...
Since it was raining a lot, I decided that I would let Carter take a nap in the car and then we'd head back into the museum until Brian was ready to be picked up. I was hoping the school groups would be gone by then and I'd be able to let Carter explore a little more.
So I drove around the park a little and Carter fell asleep. I parked near the museum again and caught up on some email on my phone. Once Carter woke up, I gave him a snack and we headed back into the museum.
It was so much nicer in the late afternoon! It seemed empty compared to earlier in the day. I ended up letting Carter run around the aquarium for about an hour going from exhibit to exhibit. He had so much fun and didn't bother anyone since there were so few people there.
Carter was enjoying running his hand along the wall as he walked from exhibit to exhibit. Once there were people in his way and he started grunting at them like he does to Brian and me to move out of his way. They didn't seem to notice but it was funny to watch Carter try to communicate what he wanted to other people.
After the aquarium we walked through some of the exhibits we missed in the morning (including this albino alligator) before heading out to pick up Brian.
We spent another 1 1/2 hours at the museum. It was a big place, but if I wasn't trying to stretch the visit to take up the entire day, you could probably see everything in 2-3 hours.
Once we picked up Brian, we all headed to BJ's Brewhouse for an early dinner. It was a good thing we got there early because by 6 pm, there was a decent wait for a table. Carter did a pretty good job not being too loud during dinner and we were happy to get a good meal.
We headed back to our hotel room and got Carter to sleep on time around 7:30 pm.
Carter Photos
I realized today that it's been forever since I tried getting good photos of Carter. So I got my good camera out today and I'm going to see what I can capture over the next few days.
Here are a few I got today ...
Carter and I had lots of fun today. We went to Baby Bookworms for the first time in awhile and Carter did great. He really enjoyed the songs - he clapped and laughed a lot. And he stayed by me - no straying off to play by the window. It was really crowded today and when the class was over and the librarian was bringing the teddy bear around to say hi to all the kids, Carter got brave and explored all over the room on his own. He even tried to interact a little with some of the other kids.
After having lunch and running a few errands (Carter screamed happy screams so loud the entire time in Target so we had to do our shopping quickly), we went to Anchor Park to play for a bit. We can't get enough of this nice weather!
Carter fell asleep on the way home and after he got up from his afternoon nap, we played outside some more in our own yard. Carter chased Charlotte around and played with the rocks under our deck.
I think the rain is coming in tomorrow so maybe I'll finally catch up on some chores around the house if we're stuck inside!
Here are a few I got today ...
Carter and I had lots of fun today. We went to Baby Bookworms for the first time in awhile and Carter did great. He really enjoyed the songs - he clapped and laughed a lot. And he stayed by me - no straying off to play by the window. It was really crowded today and when the class was over and the librarian was bringing the teddy bear around to say hi to all the kids, Carter got brave and explored all over the room on his own. He even tried to interact a little with some of the other kids.
After having lunch and running a few errands (Carter screamed happy screams so loud the entire time in Target so we had to do our shopping quickly), we went to Anchor Park to play for a bit. We can't get enough of this nice weather!
Carter fell asleep on the way home and after he got up from his afternoon nap, we played outside some more in our own yard. Carter chased Charlotte around and played with the rocks under our deck.
I think the rain is coming in tomorrow so maybe I'll finally catch up on some chores around the house if we're stuck inside!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
3 1/2 Month Break
Carter is officially weaned. The last time I nursed him was Sunday evening. I now get a whole 3 1/2 months off from nursing before the next baby arrives. I really can't believe it took this long to get Carter weaned - he's 16 months old!!! But only this weekend did he start drinking whole milk with no water in it (and drink it willing at all meals).
We had much nicer weather here today than yesterday - we had snow flurries all morning and early afternoon yesterday. Winter just does not want to end! Today got up to around 60F so Carter and I went to the park at West Hills for about an hour this afternoon. The first half hour involved playing with sticks. Carter's favorite was one that was at least twice his height. I eventually convinced him he wanted to play on the playground. He loved all the pea gravel that is used in the play area. He found a buddy about the same age that also liked playing with the rocks and they sat together moving rocks around.
I finally finished painting Carter's new room today. I'll try to remember to take some pictures and post them tomorrow. I still need to decorate the room and find bedding, but I may try to get Carter's toys and clothes moved tomorrow so we can try to have him start sleeping in there this week!
We had much nicer weather here today than yesterday - we had snow flurries all morning and early afternoon yesterday. Winter just does not want to end! Today got up to around 60F so Carter and I went to the park at West Hills for about an hour this afternoon. The first half hour involved playing with sticks. Carter's favorite was one that was at least twice his height. I eventually convinced him he wanted to play on the playground. He loved all the pea gravel that is used in the play area. He found a buddy about the same age that also liked playing with the rocks and they sat together moving rocks around.
I finally finished painting Carter's new room today. I'll try to remember to take some pictures and post them tomorrow. I still need to decorate the room and find bedding, but I may try to get Carter's toys and clothes moved tomorrow so we can try to have him start sleeping in there this week!
Monday, March 22, 2010
San Francisco - Day 2 - Exploratorium & Golden Gate Bridge
On Tuesday, Carter woke up around 3:15 am and fussed for a few minutes. He did this several times over the next 45 minutes (since this is when he normally gets up), but eventually he went back to sleep for good. We actually had to wake him up at 6 am since we had to get ready.
We all got ready and had breakfast at the hotel (just cold food at this hotel, but it worked out). It was a very rainy morning and I was not looking forward to driving our rental car, a Dodge Charger (I wouldn't be driving it for much longer, but more on that in a bit). It's a big car with lots of blind spots I'm not familiar with and I don't know downtown San Francisco very well at all. There are lots of one way streets with a good amount of traffic during rush hour (the time I had to drop off and pick up Brian). Normally, I wouldn't be all that worried, but now that I have Carter with me and I'm pregnant again, I like feeling safe while driving.
Anyway, we dropped Brian off a little before 8 am. Since it was supposed to be rainy most of the day, I decided Carter and I would go to the Exploratorium. It's a hands-on science museum located in the Marina district near the Golden Gate Bridge. The museum doesn't open until 10 am so Carter and I had some time to kill. I decided to drive over to the south end parking lot for viewing the Golden Gate Bridge and hope the rain stopped long enough for Carter and I to take a few pictures. Carter fell asleep after we dropped off Brian so we chilled in the parking lot for awhile while he finished sleeping.
It was still raining when Carter woke up, but I decided to drag him out to the viewing area anyway. It was also really windy which made me carrying Carter and an umbrella very entertaining for anyone that was watching. Carter wanted to get down and run around but it wasn't safe for him so we didn't stay long.
Carter and I drove around the Presidio area for a little bit trying to figure out what it was (all I knew was it's part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). We stopped by the visitors' center for a few minutes and we got Carter's passport book for the national parks stamped.
It was finally 10 am so we made our way to the museum. We got in free with our annual membership to the AMSE we bought right before our Florida trip - I was excited to take advantage of this membership again (we saved $15!).
This museum was very cool. It'll be much cooler for Carter when he gets older though. Everything in the museum was hands-on, but unfortunately everything was designed for kids older than Carter. Carter managed to find his own way to play with lots of things.
Carter really liked the tornado machine (he wasn't too into the one at the Orlando Science Center).
Here are a couple of videos of Carter playing with the tornado ...
Carter's favorite exhibit (which somehow I missed taking a picture of) was a spinning circle with long strips of plastic hanging from it. It looked like a spinning circus tent. The strips of plastic weren't connected and Carter liked going in and out of the circle. I have no idea what this exhibit was supposed to teach anyone though.
I let Carter explore and go to whatever exhibit he wanted, but it got really tiring running after him and dragging his stroller around. Plus Carter is often clueless to the other people around him and he'll step right in front of people. So making sure he didn't get run over was also a lot of work. The museum was packed with a bunch of school groups as well.
I needed breaks occasionally so Carter had to get in his stroller. He got really mad every time I did it though. But he'd get over it in a minute or two. We've been going through a bad period of tantrums. Carter has an awful, loud scream that sounds like I'm hurting him. I'm trying to ignore it but it's hard when people are staring at you!
Carter, after accepting that he has to sit in his stroller ...
The Exploratorium is a really cool building - it's essentially one huge room. There is an open mezzanine level with more exhibits and this is where I tried to take some pictures to show off the museum (they didn't turn out very good) ...
The Exploratorium is located on the grounds of the Palace of Fine Arts. It looked beautiful, but the area was all blocked off though so we couldn't walk around when we left the museum.
When we left the museum, Carter fell asleep immediately in the car. I ended up driving around the Presidio area again and made my way up to Inspiration Point where I waited for Carter to wake up from his nap.
There are some good views from up here. That dome in the next two pictures is the same dome that's in the previous picture. The second picture shows Alcatraz.
Since the weather had cleared up, I decided to go back to the Golden Gate Bridge and walk part of it with Carter.
We made it out to the first tower before I decided it was time to head back to pick up Brian.
Downtown SF from the bridge ...
Lots of people offered to take our picture for me!
We got back to the car around 4:15 pm to pick up Brian. However, the car would not start.
The Charger had one of those key fobs. When I put it the ignition in the dash, a red light came on and it beeped. Then nothing would happen when I turned the key. I hadn't left the lights on so I was pretty sure it wasn't the battery (though I was hoping that's all it was). The car was older for a rental car - 40K+ miles so I knew it could be something worse.
I tried calling Brian a few times but he wasn't picking up. So I called Dollar's roadside assistance. They told me they couldn't help me because my name wasn't on the contract. Brian would have to call them. I didn't understand how my name didn't get on the contract. We gave the person checking us in at the airport my license and told him we wanted both our names on the contract, but somehow, he didn't add me. (Lesson learned - don't just check the rate on the rental agreement, also check that all drivers' names are on the contract!)
I tried using the fact that I had a baby with me and was pregnant to my advantage to get help but was only given the suggestion of calling AAA. Dollar's excuse was they couldn't help me for security reasons. I'm still baffled by this. If I'm telling you I have your car and you don't think I should have it, wouldn't you want to come out and get it from me?
Anyway, I called AAA and they were sending out a truck to help me figure out what was wrong. I finally got up with Brian as I waited and he also called Dollar's roadside assistance who told him to call them back after AAA diagnosed the problem. Brian tried called Dollar's customer service line as well but they apparently closed at 5 pm central time.
The temperature was starting to drop pretty quick and I only had a few more snacks along to keep both Carter and myself from getting too cranky. Luckily Carter was enjoying crawling all over the car and pushing any button he could find.
AAA's truck showed up around 5:15 pm. The guy quickly determined nothing was wrong with the battery and his best guess was that the ignition was broken and the car needed to be towed somewhere.
I called Brian with that information and he called Dollar's roadside assistance. They told him they'd send a tow truck out pulling a new car for us. They also had the nerve to say they'd have to see though if they had any full size cars available for us.
Brian took a taxi from downtown to the parking lot of the Golden Gate Bridge to hang out with us until we got the new car. Carter continued to be a champ and not fuss much about being cooped up in the car as we waited.
The new car (a brand new Impala) finally showed up around 7 pm. The tow truck driver had a lot of trouble getting the car off the truck - one of the chains somehow got stuck on the axle or something. After lots of banging with a hammer, he finally got it off and we were on our way around 7:15 pm.
It was a frustrating 3 hours for us though.
This was our first full day in San Francisco and Carter wasn't fully adjusted to the time difference yet so it felt really late to him. He fell asleep in the car as soon as we started driving. We stopped by a Chili's on the way to the hotel and got some take out. When we got back to the room, we ate and fed Carter a little dinner. We were able to get him to bed around 8:30 pm.
Because I still wasn't supposed to drive the rental car, Brian tried calling the Dollar office at the airport. There wasn't a manager there and the woman answering the phone kept putting Brian on hold and transferring him around until she hung up on him (twice). We decided to deal with Dollar again in the morning.
We all got ready and had breakfast at the hotel (just cold food at this hotel, but it worked out). It was a very rainy morning and I was not looking forward to driving our rental car, a Dodge Charger (I wouldn't be driving it for much longer, but more on that in a bit). It's a big car with lots of blind spots I'm not familiar with and I don't know downtown San Francisco very well at all. There are lots of one way streets with a good amount of traffic during rush hour (the time I had to drop off and pick up Brian). Normally, I wouldn't be all that worried, but now that I have Carter with me and I'm pregnant again, I like feeling safe while driving.
Anyway, we dropped Brian off a little before 8 am. Since it was supposed to be rainy most of the day, I decided Carter and I would go to the Exploratorium. It's a hands-on science museum located in the Marina district near the Golden Gate Bridge. The museum doesn't open until 10 am so Carter and I had some time to kill. I decided to drive over to the south end parking lot for viewing the Golden Gate Bridge and hope the rain stopped long enough for Carter and I to take a few pictures. Carter fell asleep after we dropped off Brian so we chilled in the parking lot for awhile while he finished sleeping.
It was still raining when Carter woke up, but I decided to drag him out to the viewing area anyway. It was also really windy which made me carrying Carter and an umbrella very entertaining for anyone that was watching. Carter wanted to get down and run around but it wasn't safe for him so we didn't stay long.
Carter and I drove around the Presidio area for a little bit trying to figure out what it was (all I knew was it's part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). We stopped by the visitors' center for a few minutes and we got Carter's passport book for the national parks stamped.
It was finally 10 am so we made our way to the museum. We got in free with our annual membership to the AMSE we bought right before our Florida trip - I was excited to take advantage of this membership again (we saved $15!).
This museum was very cool. It'll be much cooler for Carter when he gets older though. Everything in the museum was hands-on, but unfortunately everything was designed for kids older than Carter. Carter managed to find his own way to play with lots of things.
Carter really liked the tornado machine (he wasn't too into the one at the Orlando Science Center).
Here are a couple of videos of Carter playing with the tornado ...
Carter's favorite exhibit (which somehow I missed taking a picture of) was a spinning circle with long strips of plastic hanging from it. It looked like a spinning circus tent. The strips of plastic weren't connected and Carter liked going in and out of the circle. I have no idea what this exhibit was supposed to teach anyone though.
I let Carter explore and go to whatever exhibit he wanted, but it got really tiring running after him and dragging his stroller around. Plus Carter is often clueless to the other people around him and he'll step right in front of people. So making sure he didn't get run over was also a lot of work. The museum was packed with a bunch of school groups as well.
I needed breaks occasionally so Carter had to get in his stroller. He got really mad every time I did it though. But he'd get over it in a minute or two. We've been going through a bad period of tantrums. Carter has an awful, loud scream that sounds like I'm hurting him. I'm trying to ignore it but it's hard when people are staring at you!
Carter, after accepting that he has to sit in his stroller ...
The Exploratorium is a really cool building - it's essentially one huge room. There is an open mezzanine level with more exhibits and this is where I tried to take some pictures to show off the museum (they didn't turn out very good) ...
The Exploratorium is located on the grounds of the Palace of Fine Arts. It looked beautiful, but the area was all blocked off though so we couldn't walk around when we left the museum.
When we left the museum, Carter fell asleep immediately in the car. I ended up driving around the Presidio area again and made my way up to Inspiration Point where I waited for Carter to wake up from his nap.
There are some good views from up here. That dome in the next two pictures is the same dome that's in the previous picture. The second picture shows Alcatraz.
Since the weather had cleared up, I decided to go back to the Golden Gate Bridge and walk part of it with Carter.
We made it out to the first tower before I decided it was time to head back to pick up Brian.
Downtown SF from the bridge ...
Lots of people offered to take our picture for me!
We got back to the car around 4:15 pm to pick up Brian. However, the car would not start.
The Charger had one of those key fobs. When I put it the ignition in the dash, a red light came on and it beeped. Then nothing would happen when I turned the key. I hadn't left the lights on so I was pretty sure it wasn't the battery (though I was hoping that's all it was). The car was older for a rental car - 40K+ miles so I knew it could be something worse.
I tried calling Brian a few times but he wasn't picking up. So I called Dollar's roadside assistance. They told me they couldn't help me because my name wasn't on the contract. Brian would have to call them. I didn't understand how my name didn't get on the contract. We gave the person checking us in at the airport my license and told him we wanted both our names on the contract, but somehow, he didn't add me. (Lesson learned - don't just check the rate on the rental agreement, also check that all drivers' names are on the contract!)
I tried using the fact that I had a baby with me and was pregnant to my advantage to get help but was only given the suggestion of calling AAA. Dollar's excuse was they couldn't help me for security reasons. I'm still baffled by this. If I'm telling you I have your car and you don't think I should have it, wouldn't you want to come out and get it from me?
Anyway, I called AAA and they were sending out a truck to help me figure out what was wrong. I finally got up with Brian as I waited and he also called Dollar's roadside assistance who told him to call them back after AAA diagnosed the problem. Brian tried called Dollar's customer service line as well but they apparently closed at 5 pm central time.
The temperature was starting to drop pretty quick and I only had a few more snacks along to keep both Carter and myself from getting too cranky. Luckily Carter was enjoying crawling all over the car and pushing any button he could find.
AAA's truck showed up around 5:15 pm. The guy quickly determined nothing was wrong with the battery and his best guess was that the ignition was broken and the car needed to be towed somewhere.
I called Brian with that information and he called Dollar's roadside assistance. They told him they'd send a tow truck out pulling a new car for us. They also had the nerve to say they'd have to see though if they had any full size cars available for us.
Brian took a taxi from downtown to the parking lot of the Golden Gate Bridge to hang out with us until we got the new car. Carter continued to be a champ and not fuss much about being cooped up in the car as we waited.
The new car (a brand new Impala) finally showed up around 7 pm. The tow truck driver had a lot of trouble getting the car off the truck - one of the chains somehow got stuck on the axle or something. After lots of banging with a hammer, he finally got it off and we were on our way around 7:15 pm.
It was a frustrating 3 hours for us though.
This was our first full day in San Francisco and Carter wasn't fully adjusted to the time difference yet so it felt really late to him. He fell asleep in the car as soon as we started driving. We stopped by a Chili's on the way to the hotel and got some take out. When we got back to the room, we ate and fed Carter a little dinner. We were able to get him to bed around 8:30 pm.
Because I still wasn't supposed to drive the rental car, Brian tried calling the Dollar office at the airport. There wasn't a manager there and the woman answering the phone kept putting Brian on hold and transferring him around until she hung up on him (twice). We decided to deal with Dollar again in the morning.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Another Great Day
I'm loving this spring weather! The trees are getting buds and tiny leaves are beginning to come out on some trees. This winter was so long and cold that it's hard to stay inside on sunny, warm days like today. I think we got up to 72!
We got one of the front beds done today. We trimmed all the bushes, pulled up all the old pinestraw and bagged it, and put down new cypress mulch. It looks so much better.
Before:
After:
Brian also sprayed the weeds in all the beds and fertilized the lawn.
This wouldn't have seemed like a lot in the past, but when you have a one year old running around while trying to get all these tasks done, it is a lot. One of us was usually having to keep on eye on Carter, making sure he didn't fall down the front steps or down a big hill or run into the street, while the other continued working. Carter does love being outside where there are so many new things to play with and explore!
I'm still working on my San Francisco posts but I'm too worn out from working on the yard all day to finish the next post tonight. Hopefully it'll be up tomorrow!
We got one of the front beds done today. We trimmed all the bushes, pulled up all the old pinestraw and bagged it, and put down new cypress mulch. It looks so much better.
Before:
After:
Brian also sprayed the weeds in all the beds and fertilized the lawn.
This wouldn't have seemed like a lot in the past, but when you have a one year old running around while trying to get all these tasks done, it is a lot. One of us was usually having to keep on eye on Carter, making sure he didn't fall down the front steps or down a big hill or run into the street, while the other continued working. Carter does love being outside where there are so many new things to play with and explore!
I'm still working on my San Francisco posts but I'm too worn out from working on the yard all day to finish the next post tonight. Hopefully it'll be up tomorrow!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Beautiful Day
It was gorgeous here today - near 70 and not a cloud in the sky. Brian got home from his business trip around 1 pm. We all went to lunch together at Chick-fil-A and then headed over to Anchor Park before Carter's nap to play for a little bit. It was crowded, but Carter never got run over (there are lots of bigger kids that aren't aware of Carter's little hands as he's climbing on the playground) and had lots of fun. He especially liked screaming at the geese and collecting sticks.
After Carter's nap, we headed over to Lowe's for some supplies for sprucing up the yard tomorrow. It's supposed to be just as beautiful tomorrow (Sunday is supposed to be rainy so we're going to try to paint then). We have a long list of things to get done tomorrow, but our biggest project is putting down new mulch in the front beds. We have been using pinestraw but we're going to switch to cypress chips. Hopefully it'll look better for longer than the pinestraw has lately. We just can't find quality pinestraw sold around here - half of each bale ends up being a combination of decomposed pinestraw, dirt, leaves, and other miscellaneous junk.
When we got home, we let Carter explore the backyard. This was the first time he's done this since he could walk. He had so much fun. He again liked collecting all the sticks he could find. Our yard is a hill so Carter needed a hand on the downhill to help him from falling. Hopefully he'll be more stable on his feet in a few months and will be able to run all over on his own.
After Carter's nap, we headed over to Lowe's for some supplies for sprucing up the yard tomorrow. It's supposed to be just as beautiful tomorrow (Sunday is supposed to be rainy so we're going to try to paint then). We have a long list of things to get done tomorrow, but our biggest project is putting down new mulch in the front beds. We have been using pinestraw but we're going to switch to cypress chips. Hopefully it'll look better for longer than the pinestraw has lately. We just can't find quality pinestraw sold around here - half of each bale ends up being a combination of decomposed pinestraw, dirt, leaves, and other miscellaneous junk.
When we got home, we let Carter explore the backyard. This was the first time he's done this since he could walk. He had so much fun. He again liked collecting all the sticks he could find. Our yard is a hill so Carter needed a hand on the downhill to help him from falling. Hopefully he'll be more stable on his feet in a few months and will be able to run all over on his own.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
San Francisco - Day 1 - Travel
On Monday (March 1st) we flew to San Francisco via Minneapolis. We flew on Delta because I had enough frequent flyer miles to get a free flight. I also had enough United miles for a free flight but the only flight available for the return trip that I could use my miles for was the red eye and there was no way we wanted to attempt that with Carter.
Our flight left Knoxville at 7:45 am and got into Minneapolis at 9:22 am (with the one hour time difference that made our flight about 2 1/2 hours). There were open seats on this flight so we were able to get our seats changed at the gate so that we could take Carter's carseat on the plane and have a seat for him. It is usually impossible to make Carter sit on our laps for any length of time - he will usually get squirmy very quickly and then start fussing a lot. This is why I was so nervous about flying with him. I figured if we were able to put him in his carseat for the flights, it wouldn't be that much different than when he's traveling in the car with us.
The plane had 2 seats on either side of the aisle so Carter had a window seat, I sat next to him, and Brian sat across the aisle from me. The gate agent was super nice when I asked her if this could be arranged and didn't hesitate on making it work for us. (This would not be the case on our return trip. I understand that not everyone might want to do this for us since we didn't buy Carter a ticket, but if there are extra seats, I hoped that for the sake of other passengers on the plane, the airline employees would want to do what they could to keep infants and young toddlers happy and quiet on flights.)
Carter did great on this first flight. He slept for the first 45 minutes of the flight. He fell asleep as the plane was literally taking off down the runway. He'd been up since around 5 am so he was ready for a nap. It wasn't too difficult to keep Carter entertained once he woke up. Feeding him snacks was the best way to pass time.
We had a 2 hour layover in Minneapolis which gave us plenty of time to get 2nd breakfast (I am pregnant and we had a really long flight ahead of us!). Our flight left Minneapolis at 11:35 am and got in to San Francisco at 1:50 pm (with the 2 hour time difference that made this leg a long 4 1/4 hours!).
Our luck ran out with the second flight. It was 100% full. The gate agent did tell us that she'd come find us on the plane if there ended up being an extra seat on the plane. I'm not really sure if she would have done this or not, but we didn't notice any open seats.
This plane had 3 seats on each side of the aisle and we had a window and middle seat. I boarded the plane early to make sure we had room for all our carry-ons. Brian and Carter joined me at the end of the boarding line to limit the amount of time Carter had to spend on the plane. Since Carter was still loving Brian and just tolerating me, he sat on Brian's lap by the window 99% of the flight.
Carter was A LOT of work to keep entertained, but he did great. He took another 45 minute nap (he actually fell asleep on Brian's lap as I was reading him a book). We fed Carter as many snacks as he would eat. I read books over and over again and pulled out a bunch of the toys I'd bought the day before. Carter was mostly quiet - he let some of his happy screams. But we managed to distract him before he threw any tantrums or melted down. He was by far the quietest of the three young children on the flight. We had several comments from people around us on how good of a baby he was.
Carter did fine with the changes in pressure when we were ascending and descending. He had his paci whenever he wanted it and we tried to feed him and give him his sippy cup as well. On the descent into San Francisco, Carter stuck his finger in one of his ears and gave us a funny look. He got over it pretty quickly, but it was kind of funny seeing him trying to figure out what was going on.
When we got into San Francisco, we got our rental car and checked into our hotel around 3 pm We stayed at the Larkspur near the airport so that we had an excuse to have a rental car Brian could expense and could eat at more casual restaurants with Carter (it was actually cheaper to stay here and have a rental car than stay downtown without a car).
We decided to try to keep Carter up as long as we could and get him adjusted to the three hour time difference by getting him very off his schedule. We hoped he would then sleep his normal amount of nighttime hours rather than getting up at the time that felt normal (which would have been around 3 am PST).
After checking into the hotel and getting them to deliver a crib (actually, a small Pack 'n Play) to the room, we went to Panera for a late lunch / early dinner. When we finished eating, Carter fell asleep immediately in the car. We decided to let him have a nap and drove downtown to the Moscone Center so that Brian could register for his conference.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a grocery store to get food for Carter for the week. We got to the hotel around 6:30 pm and managed to keep Carter up to 8 pm. We were all exhausted from the long day of travel. We had a suite again so Carter got the living room area. This time the bathroom wasn't connected to the bedroom (and I have to pee too many times at night already - pregnancy is so much fun!), but luckily we were able to set the fan on the heating unit to run continuously so it muffled out any noise we made at night. There was also someone with a puppy across the hall that barked and barked and barked so the fan helped with that as well.
It was a long and somewhat stressful day, but we made it to San Francisco and were so proud that Carter did so well!
Our flight left Knoxville at 7:45 am and got into Minneapolis at 9:22 am (with the one hour time difference that made our flight about 2 1/2 hours). There were open seats on this flight so we were able to get our seats changed at the gate so that we could take Carter's carseat on the plane and have a seat for him. It is usually impossible to make Carter sit on our laps for any length of time - he will usually get squirmy very quickly and then start fussing a lot. This is why I was so nervous about flying with him. I figured if we were able to put him in his carseat for the flights, it wouldn't be that much different than when he's traveling in the car with us.
The plane had 2 seats on either side of the aisle so Carter had a window seat, I sat next to him, and Brian sat across the aisle from me. The gate agent was super nice when I asked her if this could be arranged and didn't hesitate on making it work for us. (This would not be the case on our return trip. I understand that not everyone might want to do this for us since we didn't buy Carter a ticket, but if there are extra seats, I hoped that for the sake of other passengers on the plane, the airline employees would want to do what they could to keep infants and young toddlers happy and quiet on flights.)
Carter did great on this first flight. He slept for the first 45 minutes of the flight. He fell asleep as the plane was literally taking off down the runway. He'd been up since around 5 am so he was ready for a nap. It wasn't too difficult to keep Carter entertained once he woke up. Feeding him snacks was the best way to pass time.
We had a 2 hour layover in Minneapolis which gave us plenty of time to get 2nd breakfast (I am pregnant and we had a really long flight ahead of us!). Our flight left Minneapolis at 11:35 am and got in to San Francisco at 1:50 pm (with the 2 hour time difference that made this leg a long 4 1/4 hours!).
Our luck ran out with the second flight. It was 100% full. The gate agent did tell us that she'd come find us on the plane if there ended up being an extra seat on the plane. I'm not really sure if she would have done this or not, but we didn't notice any open seats.
This plane had 3 seats on each side of the aisle and we had a window and middle seat. I boarded the plane early to make sure we had room for all our carry-ons. Brian and Carter joined me at the end of the boarding line to limit the amount of time Carter had to spend on the plane. Since Carter was still loving Brian and just tolerating me, he sat on Brian's lap by the window 99% of the flight.
Carter was A LOT of work to keep entertained, but he did great. He took another 45 minute nap (he actually fell asleep on Brian's lap as I was reading him a book). We fed Carter as many snacks as he would eat. I read books over and over again and pulled out a bunch of the toys I'd bought the day before. Carter was mostly quiet - he let some of his happy screams. But we managed to distract him before he threw any tantrums or melted down. He was by far the quietest of the three young children on the flight. We had several comments from people around us on how good of a baby he was.
Carter did fine with the changes in pressure when we were ascending and descending. He had his paci whenever he wanted it and we tried to feed him and give him his sippy cup as well. On the descent into San Francisco, Carter stuck his finger in one of his ears and gave us a funny look. He got over it pretty quickly, but it was kind of funny seeing him trying to figure out what was going on.
When we got into San Francisco, we got our rental car and checked into our hotel around 3 pm We stayed at the Larkspur near the airport so that we had an excuse to have a rental car Brian could expense and could eat at more casual restaurants with Carter (it was actually cheaper to stay here and have a rental car than stay downtown without a car).
We decided to try to keep Carter up as long as we could and get him adjusted to the three hour time difference by getting him very off his schedule. We hoped he would then sleep his normal amount of nighttime hours rather than getting up at the time that felt normal (which would have been around 3 am PST).
After checking into the hotel and getting them to deliver a crib (actually, a small Pack 'n Play) to the room, we went to Panera for a late lunch / early dinner. When we finished eating, Carter fell asleep immediately in the car. We decided to let him have a nap and drove downtown to the Moscone Center so that Brian could register for his conference.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a grocery store to get food for Carter for the week. We got to the hotel around 6:30 pm and managed to keep Carter up to 8 pm. We were all exhausted from the long day of travel. We had a suite again so Carter got the living room area. This time the bathroom wasn't connected to the bedroom (and I have to pee too many times at night already - pregnancy is so much fun!), but luckily we were able to set the fan on the heating unit to run continuously so it muffled out any noise we made at night. There was also someone with a puppy across the hall that barked and barked and barked so the fan helped with that as well.
It was a long and somewhat stressful day, but we made it to San Francisco and were so proud that Carter did so well!
Day Between Trips
The Sunday between our two trips was a hectic day for us. We had a lot to get done. And our trip to San Francisco was the first time we were going to fly with Carter and we were a little stressed about how that was going to go.
It took us all day to get everything together. Brian had to catch up on some work since he'd been gone for a week and was going to be gone for another week. Carter was a handful just being home and around all his own stuff again. I did lots and lots of laundry (4 loads, I think) throughout the day so we could pack clothes in the evening. We had to give Charlotte a bath since she was stinky from the kennel and take her over to a friend's house who was nice enough to keep her for the week but lives 45 minutes away. I went to the Dollar Store and Target to get Carter an assortment of new toys as entertainment for the plane. I bought a ton of stuff (and he went through most of it).
It seemed like there were a ton of other things to get done too, but I'm not remembering them anymore. It was also difficult making sure we didn't overpack. We planned on checking one bag since this was a business trip for Brian and he could expense the one bag. We wanted to bring everything else on the plane with us (which included Carter's stroller, carseat, diaper bag, one carry-on suitcase, a bookbag for all of Carter's toys and my carry-on stuff, and Brian's laptop). We did a really good job packing minimally but still having everything we needed.
It took us all day to get everything together. Brian had to catch up on some work since he'd been gone for a week and was going to be gone for another week. Carter was a handful just being home and around all his own stuff again. I did lots and lots of laundry (4 loads, I think) throughout the day so we could pack clothes in the evening. We had to give Charlotte a bath since she was stinky from the kennel and take her over to a friend's house who was nice enough to keep her for the week but lives 45 minutes away. I went to the Dollar Store and Target to get Carter an assortment of new toys as entertainment for the plane. I bought a ton of stuff (and he went through most of it).
It seemed like there were a ton of other things to get done too, but I'm not remembering them anymore. It was also difficult making sure we didn't overpack. We planned on checking one bag since this was a business trip for Brian and he could expense the one bag. We wanted to bring everything else on the plane with us (which included Carter's stroller, carseat, diaper bag, one carry-on suitcase, a bookbag for all of Carter's toys and my carry-on stuff, and Brian's laptop). We did a really good job packing minimally but still having everything we needed.
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