A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Okay, so it's the only title I could think of with "Brooklyn" in it. There were trees there, after all. Go with it.

My friend Linda, from Bunco, showed up this morning with her husband, minutes after the black & white cab arrived to take Chloë and me to the airport. We installed the chillies' car seats, and I kissed my sweet babies good-bye. They had snacks and toys, and they were in good hands.

I hopped in the cab, and away we went!

 

Chloë waiting for our plane in Norfolk International (ORF)

All in all, despite the fact that we jetsetted to NYC and back in a day, it was all pretty low-key. Chloë sat next to a college senior on his first plane ride on the way up to La Guardia, and they chitchatted throughout the duration. I slept. I let her have a Sprite from the Flight Attendant's beverage service, which was cause for major excitement. (We don't often allow them soda.)

Once we got to NYC, we had about, oh, 2½ hours to kill before her call time in Brooklyn. She was hungry, so I got her a McNugget meal from the McDonald's in the food court. It came with a Hello Kitty watch, and she has been obsessively playing with it ever since. I set the time and date on it, and she's been reading them to me all day!

 

We went out to the taxi stand and arranged for a cab to Brooklyn. The ride was uneventful, unless you count her McD's chocolate milk spilling in my purse, over all the contents. That sucks, but it goes with the mom territory, I think! Has to happen at least once. At least it didn't ruin our return tickets.

We got there with about two hours to spare. I decided to go ahead up and find the place first, and the we could easily find our way back when it was her 1500 call time. Instead, they welcomed us in and had us fill out her paperwork immediately. In about five minutes, it was her turn. They took four pictures of her in different poses, and that was it. We were done! All that travel for that. So, cross your fingers that she gets it!

We walked out with another mom and her little boy, so she and I talked for a while about "the business" and our kids' "work" thus far. She was really nice, and was amazed we'd come all the way from Va Beach, having driven up from Philadelphia herself. She helped me find a cab to get back to La Guardia, and we said our good-byes.

The return cab gouged me. It cost $10 more to return than to get out to Brooklyn. Suck. Oh, well, what are ya gonna do?

   

We now had about six hours to kill before our return flight. Neither of us was looking forward to that. Chloë was hungry again, so we stopped at a side kiosk, where I found (hooray!) Greek yogurt, loaded with protein and no fat. Finally, something for me to eat. I also bought a protein smoothie, but it was nasty; when Chloë asked me if I'd share it with her, I outright gave it to her. She was thrilled, until she tasted it herself. Hehehe. Chlo had some yogurt with granola and part of a chocolate bar, which gave her an upset tummy.

After a few visits to the bathroom for Chlo (hey, I only go in my own house if I can help it, so I held it all day!), we went up to our gate and found two earlier flights home. Could we get on the first one? We could! So we changed tickets and shortened our wait time by about four hours. Yippee!

 

While I sat and watched, and to the various amusement and annoyance of the other passengers, Chloë amused herself by making up dances, running around pretending I was a bear who was going to eat her, and playing with all the pay phones. I gave her a nickel and dime to figure out the whole coin-return game, and she had to try each phone out to make sure. She had a fit when one ate her dime! Then two little girls joined our gate-waiting, and she began to play with them. That lasted until it was time to board.

Our plane was delayed once for maintenance and again for I-don't-know, while we sat on the runway. It was only about 20 minutes, but it felt like an hour after our long day. We both fell asleep on the return flight; I heard myself snoring but didn't care enough to wake up and quit it!

After we found Rob and the Littles, he drove us home while I called Miss Linda to see how the kiddos had behaved. She wore them out, and they wore her and her husband out! Jack fell asleep in the car and hasn't woken up since; Sophia also fell asleep on the ride home but woke up to eat dinner. Barely - she lay down on her plate and was carried to bed before she spoke up. "Actually," she told her father, "I do want my dinner."

The girls had their chicken patties and broccoli, and I decided to eat some too. Wrong! The broccoli didn't sit well, and I yakked it all up. I soothed myself with one of my trusty popsicles while the girls ate birthday cake for dessert. Finally, it's gone and I can make something else!

Well, tomorrow should be Jack's first soccer game, but we'll find out for sure in the morning. We've had weather, and it's ongoing. They don't take chances with wet fields, so we'll see mañana.

Oh, and there's a chance Rob could be sent up to North Dakota for help with the flooding there. Could be tomorrow, could be next week - who knows? Stay tuned.

Have a great weekend!

Fin.