Kuplink, Kuplank, Kuplunk

Is This a Big One Mommy?

To celebrate the start of summer, our whole family headed out to pick blueberries. There is a blueberry patch no more than a mile from our house. I learned about the blueberry patch a little late last summer, so Edmund and I got in one small picking before the season ended. Since about February, every time we pass the blueberry patch Edmund says, "are the blueberries ready yet?" Last week I finally spotted a sign that let us know the blueberries were indeed ready. When I told Edmund we would have to wait until Saturday to pick blueberries, the question became "is it Saturday yet?" This question, although constant, was also a great way to introduce the days of the week. This morning when Edmund said "is it Saturday yet?" we had to let him know that "yes it was, but it was not 7:30 yet." I'm sure you can guess what the next question was, and so began our lesson in telling time. After all that waiting, the big moment arrived. Fortunately, Edmund's second blueberry experience exceeded expectations.

It is still early in the season, but there were a fair number of ripe blueberries. Edmund got a special, kid-sized pail. We explained that we only pick the "blue" berries and set Edmund free. He immediately started dropping blueberries into his pail. As he did so he said, "kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk," and informed us he was Sal from Blueberries for Sal. However, he was quick to assure Steven and I that we wouldn't meet any bears on our excursion, just some chickens.

The picking continued famously. Surprisingly Edmund only put one unripe blueberry in the basket, and even asked me when he wasn't sure if he had a "blue" berry. I commented on the humor in this, as even I at times find it hard to distinguish an unripe blueberry from a ripe one. If you'll recall we came home with a lot of green strawberries, and the ripe ones are pretty distinct. Perhaps Edmund is older and wiser now, after his experience with those bitter strawberries.

We picked blueberries for about thirty minutes before calling it quits. Other families had bucket loads of berries, but as a family we don't consume much. We decided it best to eat some, make a few recipes, and use them all up. We had such a great time, we plan to return next week, and may even come home with a pile of blackberries too.

Strawberries for Edmund

Strawberry Picker Hard at Work

Clearly I haven't made good on my promise of lots of posts as there wasn't a single post in April. Steven was on a difficult rotation and I use my free time as an opportunity to write. Unfortunately I was sick, sick, sick from the end of March until the beginning of this week, which meant most of my time was spent in bed. The whole family got this last illness and I'm truly hoping it's the last as we move into warmer weather.

Yesterday we were all feeling well enough, Steven just barely, to go strawberry picking at Jean's Berry Patch. Steven and I went berry picking here shortly before we got married and hadn't gotten back. It seemed so far away when we lived in Carrboro, but it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from where we now live in Durham.

Steven made the mistake of asking Edmund if he wanted to go strawberry picking. Of course he got the typical two year old response..."NO." Edmund has been very into the story "Blueberries for Sal" as of late and I coaxed him into the car with the promise of his very own bucket just like Sal. That did the trick, and we were off.

Jean's Berry Patch is very large and well organized. We got our very own row of berries from which to pick and Edmund got his own bucket. There were so many red, juicy berries to choose from. Edmund ate many of his pickings right off the plant. His hands were a bright red by the time we finished. Mommy and daddy quickly filled their bucket with big strawberries, but Edmund's bucket was much more shallow with many a small, unripe berry to be found. He discovered when we got home the green berries were not to his liking and decided to partake of mommy and daddy's pickings instead. We had warned him about the green ones, but were sympathetic and shared our slightly more appetizing red berries with him anyway.

Edmund loved strawberry picking and didn't want to leave. We could have stayed much longer, but since we leave for vacation next week we didn't want to get too many berries. Fortunately for Edmund the fun didn't end too soon. While daddy was paying for our berries Edmund and I discovered a small play area. There were two small handmade see-saws. Due to safety issues you don't see many of them anymore, but I still think it's a childhood right of passage. Edmund got to try out his first see-saw with mommy. Don't worry, I didn't catapult him into the berry patch. After his see-saw ride, Edmund couldn't get enough of the sandbox and sand toys. We lured him away by promising him time in the sandbox at home. Isn't it funny, however, that the home sandbox only held his interest for five minutes. Children are mysterious creatures.

Edmund's first strawberry picking adventure was a success. We know strawberry season is short, but Steven and I hope to fit in one more picking excursion before the season ends. And next time we know we'll have no trouble getting our fledgling berry picker to oblige.

It may be a couple of weeks, but be on the lookout for a post about Edmund's first trip to Disney World. We leave soon and are hoping we may get to see the shuttle launch as well.

Go, Heels Go!

Edmund and Rameses

This past Saturday, Edmund attended his first UNC football game. Grandma and Grandpa were so kind to invite us to the game against William and Mary. Several days prior to the game we prepped Edmund by telling him we were going to see Carolina play football. From then on every time we got in the car to go somewhere Edmund was convinced we were headed to a football game. All this anticipation meant that he could not contain his excitement when the moment actually arrived.

Football is not my game. I enjoy being surrounded by fans and get caught up in the excitement, but I simply don't get football. Basketball I understand. It's a fast paced game with clear, simple rules. Football is a bunch of guys running and falling, followed by what seems like an eternity of stop in play. I probably could learn the game if my heart was in it, but it seems my brain has put up a shield preventing me from learning even the most basic rules of the game. This was evident when I pointed out the goal to Edmund and said "see that? If Carolina kicks the ball through that they get a touchdown." Steven heard this and quickly corrected me, "Um they get a touchdown if they run the ball over the line over there." My mistake.

As a parent you start seeing everyday things differently. When the fans started cheering at the first tackle, I couldn't help but wonder what Edmund was thinking. As a parent and teacher of young children I spend a good portion of my day saying how unkind it is to jump on people. And now people were cheering and clapping uncontrollably as several big guys piled on top of one another. Edmund hasn't tried to make a tackle since the game, so for now I think we're safe. Edmund enjoyed himself immensely throughout the first quarter. After that he was all done. "I go home now, ok." We had to get creative in order to keep Edmund interested enough to stay the entire game. Earlier we had seen the Rameses mascot walking around. Edmund said "Rameses, I give him hug and kiss." So during the second quarter when Rameses approached our section I decided to take Edmund to greet him, as a distraction. I wasn't sure Edmund would be quite as enthused when he came face to face with the giant mascot. I was wrong. Edmund immediately threw his arms around the big ram and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. We got quite the keepsake picture to capture the moment.

During half-time we got a hot dog and some popcorn. That most certainly kept Edmund entertained. He also loved watching the instruments during the marching band's show. He is becoming quite the musician and now relishes in any live music.

Half-time concluded and it was back to the game. Edmund was getting a bit antsy. He asked grandma to take him on several walks up and down the stairs. When he returned, he started to get into the cheers. Edmund loved the opportunity to scream without anyone telling him not to, and as he has quite the pair of lungs on him, made quite the contribution. I may not know football, but I knew well enough to know the Heels weren't doing all that well in the second half. Steven's earlier reminder of how the game works was a good thing because I was able to cheer extra loud as the team made their way down the field for a touchdown. By this time Edmund had caught onto the chant "Go Heels Go" and said it so sweetly that the spectators around us couldn't help but smile.

When Carolina scored the touchdown, a round of fireworks was set off into the early evening sky. To everyone's great surprise, Edmund, who normally shies away from loud noises, simply looked at us and said "I see fireworks." This was a good test. Maybe he'll be ready for his first big fireworks display by next 4th of July. The touchdown and the plays that followed were enough to put Carolina in the lead. All they had to do was keep William and Mary from scoring. With our football team's track record, this was easier said than done. What do you know? They actually played great defense and earned themselves a win.

When we met up for pizza with Aunt Alison after the game everyone talked about how proud Edmund's Granddad would be that Edmund saw his first football game. Tar Heel football made quite an impression on young Edmund. Today while all the other kids were relaying tales of Halloween night, Edmund was running around the playground shouting "I got a football, Joshua. Go, Heels, Go!" Edmund has the most infectious excitement, so by the end of outside time more than half the class were playing imaginary football and shouting "Go, Heels, Go!" Only time will tell whether Edmund will be a basketball or football fanatic, but we all know where Granddad stands.

*Don't worry. A Halloween post will be coming your way by the end of the week.

Tiger Jennifer

No Edmund Photos Available:
I Give You the Binturong

Steven is doing one of his pediatric rotations at WakeMed in Raleigh this month. WakeMed has a totally different call schedule than UNC. Almost three weeks in and I'm still not accustomed to it. Instead of being on-call 36 hours at a time every fourth night, Steven works a 7 pm to 7 am shift three nights a week. While this means he gets to come home the next day, neither Edmund or I see him much. Steven uses this time to sleep. I suppose I would too if I were up all night. His current schedule also seems to have no rhyme or reason. While I'm sure the schedule makes perfect sense to the powers that be at Wake-Med, I often find myself scrambling to find some way to occupy my time when I discover a whole weekend will pass without crossing paths with my husband. Last weekend was one such weekend.

I can be painfully shy at times although I try my best to hide it. I am some strange mix between an introvert and an extrovert. I really don't like boisterous parties, but I also don't like to spend my days alone in thought. I love being with people, just not huge groups of them. So it can be very difficult for me when Steven isn't around. I want to be able to do things with people, but I also don't want to impose. I couldn't take another weekend cooped up by myself without adult company, so after two days of mulling over how I should approach the issue, I decided to casually mention to Jennifer that if she had some free time we should take our kids somewhere. She said she'd been wanting to go to the Carolina Tiger Rescue in Pittsboro, but her husband wasn't interested. Lo and behold, I'd been wanting to see some tigers myself, and Steven wasn't interested. Perfect!

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Carolina Tiger Rescue (formerly Carnivore Preservation Trust). When we arrived we had to sign our lives and our children's lives away on a very lengthy release form. We then sat in a room with about twenty other tour group members while the tour guides went over some rules. As Emma and Edmund ran around the room we listened as the tour guides relayed the two most important rules for viewing carnivores: no running and no screaming. If we hadn't already driven more than 30 minutes and paid for the tour, that would have been my cue to get up and leave. We hadn't even started the tour and my child was breaking both rules. I didn't feel too embarrassed. His partner in crime, Emma, was breaking the rules too.

The tour guides didn't seem to mind (or be aware of) our screaming, running children, so we set off. Of course Jennifer and I constantly reminded our kids about the rules. We didn't want to be escorted off the premises for unruly toddlers. The first animal we encountered was an ocelot. I'm all about some wildlife education, but the ten year old boy who kept pushing his way to the front asked question upon question. He also made certain we knew he was a carnivore expert and gave a small speech in front of the ocelot that lasted nearly ten minutes. If this was the way our tour was going to go, there was no way Edmund and Emma were going to make it past the ocelot. After our young carnivore expert finished his lecture, our main tour guide began hers. Her speech was peppered with "oh honey" this and "oh honey" that. She liked to spook us all with her warnings of "oh honey, that cat may be small, but she could rip you to shreds with her front paws." And so it went the next hour and a half.

The Carolina Tiger Rescue is all about tigers, but my favorite animal of the tour was the binturong, or Asian Bearcat. They live in rainforests and hang around in the trees. As we learned on our tour not all carnivores eat meat. Carnivores are so-called based on their jaw structure. The binturong we saw enjoyed a diet of fruit, most especially bananas. Edmund was most impressed with the climbing ability of the binturong and commented that he wanted to play on its playground one day. I was most impressed with the fact this carnivore was about as likely to attack me as a snail. Emma and Edmund both decided after seeing the binturong they were ready to go home, and made sure our fellow "tourists" were aware of this fact. Unfortunately, we would have had to ask a tour guide to escort us back to our cars. We had been locked in the "compound" and were unable to travel without trusty tour guide Jim, so we pressed on.

The tigers were interesting, but weren't interested in meeting us. They had just received food and that took priority. We walked past a tiger named Emerson, but he was having a "bad day," so we were quickly escorted to the kinkajous. Edmund really had had enough. He was tired and sweaty. Despite this fact he was the only one on our tour to spot the kinkajou. His excited squeal of "it come out" was enough to make the entire group make a u-turn. No animal to see meant the tour would adjourn, but Edmund's keen eyes earned us one more lecture. I'm pretty certain Edmund would have kept his kinkajou spotting a secret if he knew it meant we weren't leaving. Jennifer and I could no longer let our little toddlers suffer. It had been a long day of carnivore learning. We asked Jim to take us back, but what do you know? The tour was over and we all made it back unscathed.

Jennifer wanted to get Emma a Carolina Tiger Rescue t-shirt before we left. I'm fairly certain she has a few years before she'll be able to walk in it without tripping, but at least she'll remember our fun-filled (make that sweltering) day. I never buy trinkets for Edmund when Steven is around, but he wasn't, so I let Edmund pick out a small stuffed tiger. And Edmund deserved it. Asking a toddler to go that long without running and screaming is like asking a doctor to go 36 hours without sleep. It can be done, but at a cost. When we got home I asked Edmund what he had named his tiger. Her name is Jennifer and she has been a beloved sleep friend ever since. Jennifer feels honored to have such a wonderful namesake too.

To Parents of Toddlers:
Although I enjoyed learning about the carnivores with Edmund and Emma, this is an activity best left for the older kiddos. Or better yet, leave the kids with a babysitter and learn about the carnivores with your hubby (that is if they have interest in large cats). There is no stroller access on the tour. I thought this would be fine, as I rarely use the stroller these days. Edmund hates strollers. However, he decided he hated walking this particular day too. My back and neck are still recovering from carrying Edmund through the sweltering heat. His refusal to walk helped with the no-running rule, but not with my already bad back. However, if you want your toddler to take the best nap of his life, take this tour. Edmund slept nearly four hours when we got home, which meant I was able to do all the laundry and have some me time. I also heard that Emma enjoyed quite a lengthy nap herself that afternoon.

One Other Piece of Info.:
I have no pictures to post because I was cheap and didn't want to pay the $3 to take pictures. Even photography requires a lengthy release form at this place.

Location and Contact Info:
1940 Hanks Chapel Rd.
Pittsboro, NC 27312
919-542-4684

Prepare for Take Off

Edmund Takes Off
(His Landing Can Be Viewed Below)

My blog readings and the local magazine "Carolina Parent" have recently brought the Airport Observation Park at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to my attention. Our family's move to Durham has brought us much closer to RDU, so I figured we ought to take Edmund to check it out.

It was raining the day of our planned adventure, but by the afternoon the showers had slowed to a drizzle. Steven had some free time this particular afternoon so we decided to head to the airport despite the sprinkle. After a bunch of twists and turns through the airport streets we arrived at RDU Observation Park. The rain had stopped and the sky started to clear. When we parked, Edmund started shouting "PS truck, PS truck." I looked around and informed him there were no UPS trucks around, but said we would keep our eyes peeled for one. Edmund was adamant that he saw a "PS truck" and started pointing frantically. Then it occurred to me he was pointing to a plane with a UPS logo. I said "oh I see it . You see a UPS plane." Edmund gave a relieved sigh, settled back into his seat, and calmly stated, "PS plane." He's been looking for UPS planes ever since, but it can be difficult to see a logo when the thing it is on is thousands of miles above your head.

After the UPS excitement we headed to the observation deck where several families were already gathered. Edmund enjoyed looking at the smaller planes parked below. Steven gave Edmund a lesson about control towers while we waited to see our first plane take off. Edmund was at the edge of his seat as he learned about air traffic controllers and the control tower and informed us "I go to control tower one day." Upon completing his mini lesson Edmund spotted a plane heading down the runway. He was fascinated as the plane sped up and lifted into the air. I can't speak for Steven, but I was also in awe of the aerodynamics I was witness to. It is one thing to take off in a plane, but quite another to see it take off up close. Edmund wanted more planes and so did I.

While we waited to see the next plane take off, Edmund was spouting his new knowledge of aviation. He was proudly informing us that a pilot is the person who drives a plane when we heard another plane coming down the runway. All three of us were full of anticipation for another take-off. Then we noticed the plane was slowing down. It turns out that planes take off and land on the same runway, which I suppose makes sense. After watching several planes, Edmund got fairly good at determining which planes were landing and which were taking off. In case you need a hint, the planes that are taking off speed up and those that are landing slow down. Have you got it?

A lull developed in all plane activity, so we took Edmund to the small playground a few feet from the observation deck. To get to the playground children can run on a miniature replica of a runway. I loved the mini runway, as I love all things miniature. I tried to encourage Edmund to run down the runway for take-off, to which he replied, "Mommy do it." I normally ignore Edmund or insist he try when he demands something of me, but this was good exercise. If I ran down the runway so would Edmund. Both of us had a blast pretending to be planes. We made several attempts at take-off, but to no avail. Perhaps we'd have better luck on the playground. The playground is very simple and consists of a spider shaped climbing structure situated in sand. Edmund simply wanted a bucket to play with in the sand, which of course we didn't have. We made a u-turn and headed back to the observation deck hoping to see one more take-off.

Unfortunately it was close to dinnertime so we didn't have too much time. Although we did get to see one more landing we didn't have the opportunity to see any more take-offs. Our family had a wonderful time at the Observation Peck. It would have been fun to see a few more take-offs, but we still got our fill of planes for the day. Next time I think we'll try the Observation Park on a sunnier day and hope for a little more activity, but all in all this adventure was a success.

For directions go to http://www.rdu.com/whileatairport/obpark.htm. There isn't an address listed, but there is a map on the website.