Our first night in Tampa we ate at the only place we could eat. Five Guys Hamburgers and Fries. It was the right thing to do.
We introduced our girls to donuts.
Dunkin’ Donuts that is.
Their Yankee daddy wouldn’t have it any other way.
(The fact that he is a Yankee does not mean he roots for the Yankees. It’s Red Sox all the way, folks.)
Now that I’ve cleared that up…
Donuts.
Elena thought they were okay.
But Abbie has fallen completly in love.
This comes as no surprise to anyone that knows her.
Her Daddy is so proud.
I haven’t been around in the blogging world much because the whole “moving to another country” thing did me in. It appears that the blogging department of my head has shut down until further notice, or at least until I can finally, finally unpack my suitcases next week in New Hampshire.
We’ve also been busy catching up.
And one more thing…I can’t believe how neat and tidy the roads are here.
Look! Everyone is in a lane! There are no potholes! No donkeys! No old cars!
It’s weird.
(And kinda boring.)
While waiting for our lost luggage in Miami (did I mention that before??) Brian went for a walk around the hotel just to see what was out there. Maybe he didn’t want to be in a small room with four women, or maybe he was hungry, but either way he made a great discovery. A small Venezuelan restaurant right around the corner from our hotel. He brought back several boxes of our favorites. Carne mechada, arepitas, queso blanco, and cachapas con queso de mano. It was great and made the Lost Luggage Wait a little more bearable.
(Another thing that made the wait more bearable was that we are all experienced travelers and always pack a clean pair of undies in our carry-on.)
I learned a couple of things while packing to move this time around. I started packing way in advance, about a month before our departure. It seemed to help my girls accept the upcoming change a lot easier because they had more time to adjust.
I also learned, that when little girls are involved there are a lot of shoes. Most of which are pink.
Highlights from the trip:
I’ll be back to my regular blogging soon. But one more thing: If you ever need to get any information out of anyone just put them on a 18 hour trip with two toddlers. They will tell you anything just to get out of that situation.
An Open Letter to the Hollywood Magazine Types – Thank you, Shannon, for putting my thoughts into words.
Black and White Holga’s of New York City – I want a Holga so bad. I really, really do.
Audrey Hepburn – Oh, Audrey, I just think you’re great.
Coffee Table Play Mat – How cute. Hmmm…I need to make one of these!
Sunday Suppers – In my dreams I make meals like these and then photograph them like that.
Last week, while at a soccer game, Fripits had to use the potty.
We were at an indoor soccer arena, mostly used by men. The bathroom was also mostly used by men.
I’ll let you do the math on that one.
I knew the bathroom would be disgusting but when a three year old has to go, she has to go.
We walked in and it was nasty.
She looked at me and asked, “Mommy, this bathroom isn’t very clean, right?”
Nope. It isn’t.
Then I lifted up the lid to the toilet seat, and Fripits peeked inside. It was brown, murky, and stinky.
She reacted by screaming in terror at the top of her lungs.
Finally, after the screaming subsided she begged me to taker her to her bathroom because it has a clean toilet.
That was too far away, so Mommy saved the day by putting a diaper on her and letting her go there. (Drastic times, drastic measures.)
I have traveled in many countries, and there have been times where I’ve wished for my bathroom with its clean toilet.
Welcome Elena, to the real world.
🙂