 | Diary Navigation:
|
March 17, 2003
Trip to the MFA
The other night Jamie and I got brave and adventurous and decided to visit the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) in Boston with Ella. We actually originally thought about going because some friends were going and invited us. Despite the fact that it was in the evening, around Ella’s dinner time none the less, we decided it had the potential to be a nice outing for us. I was nervous about taking her to such a big ‘sophisticated’ setting but heck, we could always leave and I have been trying to get out of the house more, especially as a family. And a little culture never hurt anyone, right?
Well, to cut to the chase, we ended up having a really nice time. Ella spent about the first 25 minutes crawling all the way up the three flights of stairs in the big main entrance way and then insisting on holding on to our hands so she could walk down like a ‘big girl’. It was nice because, since we spent so much time in one area that only had a few pieces of art (sculptures along the stairways) I spent more time really studying those few pieces rather then randomly wandering throughout the whole place like we usually do, which can be overwhelming. One of those instances in which kids force you to slow down and not try to pack so much in (Thanks Ella!). When we got sick of the stairways we put Ella in the backpack and wandered through the ancient Greek and Roman areas. Ella pointed out all of the kitty cats and doggies in the etchings and really got a kick out of the big sculptures. She would point to them and make this wondrous squealing sound. Very cute.
By then we had been there about an hour and it was well past Ella’s dinner time and we still hadn’t met up with our friends (more on that later) so we decided to go to the café they have there. Jamie and I just had appetizers but I had brought a PB&J and some applesauce and crackers for Ella. I think I have mentioned before she’s a pretty picky eater and PB&Js are only a hit sometimes. But that night, as she grabbed for the fork and started banging the table, I popped a piece of sandwich on the end. She loved it and proceeded to eat three forths of the sandwich that way (much more then normal). I was pleased she did such a good job on dinner but also really got a kick out of our ‘sophisticated’ little munchkin sitting in the café at the MFA eating a PB&J in about as dignified a manner as you can. What a cutie. Another funny thing that happened at dinner was that we sat near a large group of women. They must have belonged to some club or something because every single one of them had on some variety of a bright red hat. Well, Ella, already one to point out every hat within any visible radius, thought she had died and gone to hat heaven. She just couldn’t believe all the hats and kept mentioning them to us over and over. “Hat! Hat! HAT!” Of course she was very audible but the women thought she was cute and apparently had been getting attention regarding their hats all night, so were used to it.
Friends
So, yes, my friends never showed up to meet us. Annoying and rude in and of itself, but much more so when Ella is involved. All moms here probably know already that doing anything with a toddler is ten times more work, stress, planning, and needing to keep to a schedule. I understand that my friends had meetings that ran late and they were very apologetic but I just get very frustrated because practically none of my friends have children of their own so they have a really hard time relating to my life as it is now. To them a missed connection at a museum is no big deal, especially since I was there with Jamie so it wasn’t like I was abandoned. But waiting for them, trying to mesh things so they would work for them and, really not even for Jamie or me, but for Ella, is a big pain in the butt. I love my friends dearly, most of them I have known since high school, but it really is hard to stay close when so many of them are still hitting the bars at night and running away on spontaneous trips every month or so. It’s not even that I envy them, I really prefer my lifestyle 100 times over, but it makes me sad to think how little they understand my life. It’s also been tough for me to make new friend, ones that have children. For one thing, I have never been one to be able to just ‘open up’ and make friends easily. But also nearly all of the ‘mommy and me’ activities around here take place in the mornings, which is when I am at school.
What I really wish is that my friends would just start popping out kids of their own. Of course this is largely for selfish reasons but I also have found motherhood to be one of the most satisfying experiences of my life and I think that their philosophy of ‘I’m not ready yet’ is short sighted. But of course I try to keep these feelings to myself. And do, for the most part…
Okay, no more complaining, more fun things
I have to mention that Ella may have said her first two word sentence on the way to the MFA. She has said “Hi Kitty Cat” before (when she was very young, like ten months maybe) but I’m not convinced she was stringing words together vs. just parroting us saying “Hi Kitty Cat” ourselves. In the car ride however, little miss bossy was in the back seat when she spat out her demands “Cookie! Cookie! More! More cookie!” So there you have it, a two words sentence. Another one for the baby books.
Food, glorious food-- HA
You would think between Ella’s successes at the MFA and her first sentence that she would be a little food hound, right? Well, not if you’ve been following along closely since I am, like many moms of toddler’s, continually trying to please this picky little eater. For the record, however, I am going to list some of her foods that she will eat (on a good day). These are only loosely grouped, obviously there is considerable overlap. And there are many more foods we have tried that have been soundly rejected (all non processed meats and nearly all veggies, for instance) If anyone has any good suggestions, please let me know on my TTM board and I will be eternally grateful!
Breakfast
Fruit – bananas, apples, pears peaches, grapes
Waffles (Eggo)
Toast with peanut butter or Jelly
Bagel with cream cheese
Lunch/ Dinner
Bologna
Hotdogs
Soup (minestrone)
PB&J
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Wheat bread and butter
Pasta with tomato sauce or cheese
Tortellini
Refried beans (in pita with melted cheese usually)
Chicken nuggets
Pizza (only fresh, not the frozen kind)
French fries
Sweet potatoes or squash from the baby jar
Snacks
Crackers
Goldfish
Cheese
Apple sauce (all different flavors)
Hummus
Raisins
Popsicle
Cereal—dry cheerios, etc.
Pretzel sticks
Drinks
Soy Milk
Water
Finally, I would like to say Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all out there. Jamie, who is 95% Irish, was dismayed yesterday to find out that we didn’t have any nice green outfits for Ella to wear today. So he went out and got her the cutest little green warm weather sweat suit with rainbow racing stripes going up the sleeves. I thought that was really sweet of him, to want to make sure to share his heritage’s holiday. I was also glad because I had previously bought a bunch of spring/summer clothes for Ella in size 24 months/ 2T but it looks like she is going to be wearing 18 months for a while longer. So much for saving $$ by buying ahead… ug.
Cheers!
Bonnie
 |  |
|
want to keep a diary on iParenting?
Authoring a diary on the iParenting network allows you to chronicle your family's story, preserving it for years to come. It's also a great way to get the most out of the iParenting community. Click here to start...
|
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
