Neighbours

Everybody needs good neighbours!
Although our plan is to one day get off the dock for now we are tied up.  That doesn't mean we can't make the most of it though.  We have some really great times and great people all around us in Dockyard.  Yesterday I reflected on this as we played before dinner.
We got home and Jacob was still asleep in the pumpkin seat in the car so Marley and I decided that a picnic snack on the grass while mummy washed the car was in order.  (OK Mummy may have decided!)
We parked on the lawn in front of our gate and laid out our blanket (which I always keep in the back of the car) I ran Marley and Jacob down to the boat (she insisted on staying on the dock with him) while I quickly got together grapes, crackers and cheese.  We set up camp next to the car and I washed as Jacob slept and Marley snacked.  This was much to the amusement of the tourists walking by who asked for directions back to the ferry, and to the cruise ship workers who have taken up fishing at our gate.
As in all good car washing you must first rinse... 1 bucket of water, then wash.... 2 buckets.... and then rinse again....3 buckets! That's all fine if your hose reaches your car, or the tap is next to your car but I had to keep running back down to the dock to fill my bucket.  I also had to carry Jacob in the car seat and get Marley to follow along all three times.  (I couldn't exactly leave them there having a picnic even though I was only feet away!) Marley has her stubborn trait which meant I had to keep waiting for her to finish "just one more grape", or "last three crackers"! We got the car cleaned and Jacob woke up just at the end.
We packed up and headed back to the boat where Marley saw her toy box still on the dock from the last time we went out and attempted to wash the boat.  She insisted on playing and since we still had an hour before dinner I allowed.  We pulled everything out and enjoyed our time playing on the dock.

Our neighbours probably have no need to read this blog as they are an intricate part of this.  As we picnicked on the grass Henry- Jacobs new boat buddy arrived home from the ferry.  Tom, Marley's biggest fan also arrived back from the ferry and stopped by to play a little and our closest neighbour gave me great inspiration to not only wash my car but our boat as well.  He has begun wiping everything down and putting up his old canvas and bimini from last year.  Marley also made a point of letting our newest neighbours know that leaving trash behind is not acceptable either.  She gasped as we went up the ramp on one of our bucket trips as there was trash in the water and exclaimed for all to hear "the trash in the water is VERY BAD, it will kill all the fish especially plastics bags for turtles, this is VERY BAD mummy!". I guess the summer season has begun; cheers to longer days and more outside activities!

From Bad to Worse

Well this morning soon after I woke up late and rushed to get everyone ready to catch the ferry and just to add salt to injury it was Marleys first sports day and she needed to wear a yellow shirt and sneakers. This plus rushing caused one of the worst tantrums I have ever seen out of Marley. Mark literally hed her down while I put her sneakers and she screamed her head off. Later on in the day one of Marks co-workers asked him if Marley survived the morning as he had heard the tantrum from his boat! I also had a peanut gallery to face as we boarded the ferry with Marley still wailing. Once on the ferry I explained to Tom (who lives on our dock and is one of Marleys biggest fans and no doubt would habe loved to play with her on the ferry) that we were not in the best of shape and first needed to settle breakfast on the ride to Rockaway. I calmly explained to Marley (all the while fearing another meltdown) that she needed to get out of the pram so I could sit Jacob down to feed him. She did so without hesitation which was a relief but then began to whine again for her breakfast. I quietly pulled her to me and said in a stern voice how unexceptable it would be for her to act up on the ferry and that she needed to sit down and behave so that she could have her breakfast. I also explained to her that I was really upset and disappointed with the way she behaved on the boat this morning and that no one on the ferry wanted to hear any of that. She responded with an "I'm sorry mommy" and ate her breakfast perfectly while I fed Jacob. From the front of the ferry I heard "you should write a book", not thinking about what just happened I replied, I sort of am; I have a blog! Tom then explained; no a parenting book- you handled that so well. LOL if only he had seen me 5 mins before on the boat! The rest of the morning commute continued fine without incident and when we got to school I turned in her yellow shirt and wished her teacher good luck. Sports Day was great and a good laugh. Marley was in the spirit of it all in her yellow shirt with all her classmates. Pa and daddy even got into it by doing the wheel barrow race at the end of the day!
Mark brought the Scout (boat) into town so I left my car and we planned dinner and a boat ride in celebration of Marley's sports. We took advantage of a winter special at one of the restaurants and walked down playing as we went. Jacob took a little snooze in the pram as Mark flipped and twirled Marley down the street. It wasn't until we were almost at the resturant that we realized that both Marleys pink ribbon and Jacobs pacci had disapeared. Marley screamed and cried but luckily Jacob didn't notice the missing plug. Mark ran back along the last leg of our route to see if he could find either but instead all he brought back was someones discarded easter basket. That was no subatitute for Marleys pink ribbon but truth be told I was feeling more anxious about the pacci sisuation. Jacob isn't really fussy about the pacci as much as Marley was but if he has one there is only one kind that will do. And that was our last one of its kind! Once settled in the returant we managed to distract Marley with pictures from sports day and of her with her ribbon. "Even though we lost the ribbon we will always have this picture of you wearing it". We also found a back up pacci (although not the right kind, but a pacci at least).
Dinner was nice and we even decided on a walk down Front Street for the first Harbour Nights in town before heading to the boat. At home we docked the Scout at the end of the marina and headed to Blew Horizon by foot. Marley was super over tired and Jacob hungry to the tantrums and screaming started again as soon as the hatch was opened. When I couldn't find where the reserve pacci had gotten to I more or less lost it! I looked at Mark on the verge of tears and he calmly came up with a backup plan for the missing pacci. That was definitely a make it or break it moment and without his calmess we wouldn't have gotten both kids to bed and asleep within the hour. Thank goodness for opposites attracting!

Time Away

Time has gotten away from me. But now i'm back on track.  I was feeling very unmotivated.  After my week on the Spirit it was hard to get back into the regular routine (if you can call it that!) I spent the next week in a bit of a slump and the subsequent week after that pulling myself out of the slump.
In that time I have lost 5lbs! Woohoo :), send Mark on a vacation to remember, and (oh no don't read the next bit) smashed my car again. Oh yes I did!!
I quickly motivated myself back into my fitness regime of the ferry ride and morning walk/ run after a quick check on jeans that were begining to feel loose and bridesmaids dresses looming ever so near.  I started back and added a combination of strength training to my mix and got some extra motivation from another 'mommie friend' who is getting married in May and from my mom who has found a new interest in walking.  I was so proud of her this passed weekend; she did the 4 mile Lindos to Lindos walk with me and did awesome!!! GO MOM! :)  I also did a 5K with Mark and the kids and will be zomming Around the Sound a week from Saturday (about 7miles).
Mark's 30th Birthday is April 9th.  This is a tough time of year to have a birthday first in his buisness and secondly because its always around Easter which tends to be a lot of family time.  His partner Kareem was going on a ski trip and we all decided that Mark needed a break too so we sent him along.  It was kind of a surprise in that even though we told Mark for about a month that he was going on vacation.  Because of our financial contraints and because he expressed his constant disaproval of going on a trip he didn't think we would actually do it.  The night before we broke the news to him.  Thankfully he didn't create a scene while checking in at the airport about who packed his bags etc. and on Thursday he was off to Montreal via Philly to go skiing for 4 days.  As Murpheys Law would have it their connecting flight to Monreal was canceled which caused them to loose their bags before even getting to the resort much less the country! They got in and were promised their bags which never showed.  Mark stuck firmly to his minimalist lifestyle and refused to buy any extra gear apart from socks, underwear and a hat.  He skied all 4 days with regular pants, a t-shirt, croc shoes with a hole in the bottom and a jacket that I made him take with him on the plane! STUBBORN!!! He had a good time though, and I think secretly he is happy we sent him.
Finally my poor car, a telephone pole jumped out into the road one day when I drove Marley to school.  Luckily the damage is minimal (only a cracked side mirror) and I will not be fixing it until my time off is over, and that goes for any other car mishaps.  I am still convincing myself that statistically this is bound to happen as I am driving more than average being off and living in Dockyard when everything I do is in the East end of the island.
We are back on track.... will report about manning the boat on my own for 5 days with the kids next post :) Welcome back!

Voyage Day 2

After a wakeful night in the NAV bunk aboard Spirit more of my own fault than the noisy watch changes. I kept thinking I needed to feed Jacob.  This morning I had tests at the hospital that I wasn't able to reschedule before coming aboard.  I was thankful for the opportunity to be able to relieve Mark a bit and do the ferry run to meet Nana with the kids.  After a rough small boat ride ashore I boarded the ferry with Jacob the teddy bear and Marley the boss.  She is so organized and in charge... I wonder who she gets that from? Dropping her off to school was a real treat because I got to see her work from school which I missed at the parent teacher conference that was scheduled last night.  BOOM! Baby girl knows all her colors and shapes! A+ for mommy and daddy!

Boarding Spirit in town 

I was picked up in town by Spirit... now whats riding in style! Then we headed down north shore for St. Georges.  I'm sure there was some educational activity I was supposed to have run but instead the sailing was so perfect that we taught in the moment discussing landmarks and sail techniques.  These girls are really impressing me. They are on the ball, the captain was even having so much fun that we went out passed town cut and sailed around for a bit off St. David's head.  What a beautiful night after a cold but refreshing swim as the full moon rose and the sun set.  We shared "High Tide and Low Tide" which is your highs and lows from the day and the watch I shadowed went really deep with it.  I was able to sharing stating that my high was the sail around St. Davids Head and the swim and my low was doing this voyage without Adam although I shared that this group of girls were keeping me very positive because they were doing so well and I was grateful for the opportunity to continue to come aboard on voyages like these.  A girl from the watch shared after my turn and said "Don't worry Ms. Brookes; Adam's spirit is here with you and with us all on this trip!"....... BEAUTIFUL, and I couldn't have said it better myself.  I haven't really 'felt' him yet but his presence is here on the ship, he is a part of it forever.

Big girl's first dentist visit! 

This evening I was sent this beautiful picture of my big girl who went to the dentist for the first time today.  Although I struggle with missing these 'first moments' at least the world of technology keeps me in contact and abreast to it all.  She told me tonight about the "Treasure Chest" they have at the dentist where she got to pick out a ring.  Wow she is growing up fast... but beautifully.
Tomorrow we switch over crew, the girls go to the island and the Clearwater boys board spirit.  Should make for an interesting day.  Perhaps tonight was not the best night to volunteer to give the engineer a break and cover watch duty. I may need my rest!

Meet A Mum/Dad Activities

In one corner of the boat we have Marlena Rose weighing in at 30lbs 3ft tall and in the other Jacob Adam at 18lbs, 2ft 2" short!!! We had a dual doc visit on Tues for their check ups and both kids are great.  We had a glowing report from the Doctor and all the adoring nurses and both Mark and I couldn't help but walk out with very puffy chests and big heads.... favourite comment of the visit; "She is exceptional.... this is a perfect example of you get out what you put in!".... AHH PRIDE! :)

Today was a very interesting day in that I feel like I met up with the entire MAMA group of Bermuda (Meet A Mum Association).  The people I met aren't actually in the group but that seemed the theme of the day.  It started of with happy comments and plans for book babies from my BBM Mommas group.  These are a bunch of girls around my age with kids of varying ages in Bermuda.  We share highs, lows and help each other out with questions and concerns.  It is a great support network and I love being a part of it.  Then we did our usual morning routine of the 7:30am ferry, this morning one of Mark's work partners was on with his daughter.  She was sweet and read Marley her Curious George books on the ride (a good distraction since Dillan didn't show).  The walk to school had its usual entertainment with Marley in sneakers, black leggings, a big pink tu-tu, stripped shirt, sweater, and winter hat.  Lately she refuses to skateboard the whole way so a lot of the walk is spent beckoning her along as she looks at all the wonderful things we pass.  On the way back, I stopped in at Tribe Road Cafe to thank them for taking care of my keys and met up with a mum who's husband knows Mark.  We had gotten together a few times before Jacob was born as her daughter is only a month younger than Marley, she also had a son a month after I had Jacob.  The girls really connected when we did get them together and its great that both set of kids are so close in age; also they are really cool people.  It was good to link back up with her so hopefully we will connect more in the future.  The ferry ride back was awesome... there were so many mommies (and daddies (2)) that the poor ferry crew had to orchestrate the 10 or so prams that were blocking all the isles.  Clearly not in their job description poor guys ha!  Of the bunch was a former colleague from my substitute teaching days.  A dynamic teacher who was truly a mentor as I subbed at the school where he ran the learning support department.  Teacher turned Mr. Mom.... he is awesome.  Told me about after having his adorable son (14 months) how he realised how much more important raising him was and up and quit, cut down on costs and became a full time dad.  I told him Mark would be screaming with jealousy; and sure enough when I told him he was! He was surrounded by a group of moms and their babies in buggies and fit right into the group.  There was also another smaller mommy group who had decided that today was the perfect day for a ferry ride to Dockyard.... SAHM... taking over the world... or at least the ferries!
Once settled at home and Jacob calmed down from all the mornings excitement, he took a little nap which allowed me to clean and tidy for our playdate with another mum I went to school with who had a little boy a month or so after I had Jacob (really 2011 was the year of the boys!).  We had a great little romp on the boat and then headed to the new cafe in Dockyard.  It was great to catch up and just talk mom for a bit but time got away from us and we both ended up late.  Well worth it though :)
The rest of the afternoon consisted of pick up and a quick house visit to a friend who had ordered me a new blade for my Magic Bullet... more fresh baby food coming right up!  We played outside on the dock and then the grass with Marley's strider bike and watched the sun set waiting for dad to come home.  Dinner on the bbq and now everyone is in bed for the night (well except Jacob who will be up in a few hours).  All in all and excellent day for this Play at Home Mom!!!

Dealing with Mommy Brain on Mondays

I'm sorry I haven't been better about  more posts lately.  I feel like i'm running out of hours in the day lately.  Maybe its because now that Jacob is 6 months old he really is no longer a baby.  He sleeps less (not that he really slept as a baby), and most of all he is more active and requires my constant attention.  This means that all the things I used to get done while he either dozed or stared blankly at an activity toy can not get done!!  Either way, I would choose watching him learn to crawl over the dishes ANY DAY!
The more time goes on I am also becoming seriously concerned with my mental well-being.  Some days I really think I am going stupid.  I find myself constantly saying "I am not actually this dumb!".  Lets look at my track record so far....since on maternity (with no income coming in) I have managed to do thousands of dollars worth of damage to my car when previously I had a perfect driving record, I am constantly making trips to the grocery store (almost every day) because even with a well written list I forget an item or two or forget the list all together, I have managed to loose two cheques that could have helped me out greatly in my non-profit situation, I locked myself out of my own e-mail account that i've had for over 15 years!, i've left my daughter at her Christmas concert practise stranded with two other friends because I got the time wrong, I posted pictures of my newborn son on facebook but made the privacy settings so that only I could seem them, I have driven past Marley's school at least twice when i have been heading to pick her up.... actually the fact that I can remember all these unfortunate instances may mean there is hope!

Today was the kicker though.  After a great dinner with friends on the boat last night, we were all organised for Monday morning.  We made the ferry and got on our way.  At the ferry stop daddy and Marley found an abandoned umbrella in a bollard and took it as their own.  Marley proceeded to use the umbrella to make our walk the longest walk to school ever by insisting it was raining and walking with her umbrella! I didn't mind too much as it is still the winter ferry schedule and it was actually quite entertaining.  Since I didn't get breakfast this morning I decided to stop at my new favourite cafe "Tribe Road" on my way back to the ferry and grab one of their specialities; a yogurt fruit cup with fresh granola.  Since I didn't do my morning run I decided to sit in and eat the breakfast, I then walked myself down the the Supermarket to get Jacob more formula because i'd forgotten it on my last shopping trip, and then headed down front street to catch the 10am ferry.  Once on the ferry I read the paper and then once it arrived headed to the boat to get ready for a morning at work at Sandys 360.  I arrived at the gate and discovered I had no keys! How did this happen?! I remembered looking at where I had stashed them in the pram and thinking... hummnn they might fall out of there, but they had been fine before so I left them.  Quickly I ran back to the ferry scanning the ground as I went but I didn't catch them in time and there were no keys along the way.  I called the ferry terminal and they promised to look once it got back.  In the mean time I assessed my situation; no car keys (can't get to work), no dock keys (can't get on the boat), the next ferry leaves dockyard at 12:30 (giving me 2hours to figure it all out).  Trying not to freak out I tried to think where I had seen them last.  I thought for sure it was at Tribe Road as I left that I had had the premonition of them falling out of the pram.  I did not have a number for them so I called the ferry back and the police but no one had seen them.  I called the supermarket and another shop on front street but no one had seen them.  I went to the mini mart and asked for a spare set of keys and called the radio station as they suggested but still nothing.  I was lucky to find on the boat that although I had been cheap and refused to get a new electronic key for my car when the spare one broke I could still use it manually on the doors and at least had a car.  In the mean time the dentist called and the first dental visit we had been preparing Marley for all week would have to be cancelled as her hygienist has pink eye! What?! Who still gets pink eye?! What sand box was she playing in?! So in fact Marley could go to ballet but her gear was all on the boat and Auntie Abbie had no pram to pick her up.
I loaded up the car with ballet gear and headed to Sandys 360 to put in what time I could still waiting hopefully for the call that someone had found my keys.  With a deadline to meet it was already 12:00 and I was not going to finish the job.  My boss was understanding as he was having a similar day; the aircon had been turned off in the pool office so everything was dripping wet from the humidity from the indoor pool.  Shame, he had wanted to rearrange the office before I got in so it was all shiny and new for me!
I managed to get Marley's ballet gear to her just as my saviour called with the great news that my keys had been found.  I had left them on the counter at Tribe Road.  When I had walked into the other room to enjoy my single moment of peace for breakfast they thought I had left the cafe and took my keys aside for when I returned.  The only thing I can think to say is always have the numbers of the places you frequent often because chances are something will end up there of yours that you need!
I spent the afternoon waiting to pick up Marley googling "Foods to make your brain work better", "Mommy brain", and "Boosting your brain power".  There is a lot of research out there, plenty of blogs too... it comforts me to know I am not alone however on days like this I still feel like the dumbest person that ever lived!!

Gusty Goings!

Yesterday the gusts began again.  We are still yet to take down the bimini.  It is either ignorance or we are just hoping it really does rip away so we have to get a new one sooner than we are actually able! It picked up around mid day and through the night there were gusts up to 50 knots for sure.  The wind was howling and the boat was healing right over but the babies were sleeping.  No Mark and I did not take advantage of this ourselves to finally get an early night, instead we finished securing the boat and then settled in for a marathon run of t.v. (for us anyway) with Biggest Loser and Parenthood.  I love Parenthood because it makes me feel like a normal person however I wish it didn't come on so darn late because when Marley rose because of the wind at 3am and then Jacob at 4am I was not a supermom at all!

Marley at 1 month with Uncle Adam
on Alibi



What I have forgotten to mention was that yesterday was also Marley's 3rd birthday! I can not believe my little girl is a whole nother year older.  Mark and I spent all day saying "Three years ago today...." which isn't hard seeing as we were recounting a 25 hour labour and delivery! Still I held back tears all day thinking about what a big girl she is becoming.  She on the other hand was living it up.  Again this is the first year she actually understands the concept of her birthday (like Christmas) and is enjoying all the attention that comes with it.  We celebrated with a family dinner at Frong and Onion the night before and a few presents first thing in the morning over breakfast.  Which ment that she decided to read her new books and we were not ready in time for the ferry.  That was ok, it also ment we had to drive in which allowed me to give her, her first shout out on the radio for her birthday. The cool thing was we walk past the DJ for the radio sation on our regular walk to school so when I mentioned who we were he was really excited and played Marley's two favorites back to back; "Stir It Up" and "No Woman No Cry" from non other than the legend Bob Marley.  What an awesome birthday she had!



Marley 3 years old on Blew Horizon



The next day (today) the wind was even worse and they actually canceled the Dockyard ferry which ment driving in again.  I drove back to Blew Horizon and had the shock of my life!

There hanging in our dock lines (running from the stern of our boat to the dock) was our neighbour 3 boats down! His feet were on the dock, his head resting on our transom and his arms slung around our lines.  At first I wasn't sure if he was dead or alive as I ran down the ramp.  I shouted to him and he just asked calmly if I could help him up.  I was like *@!!L! SURE!!! I grabbed him and pulled him onto the dock.  He rested for a minuite and I asked him a few things about him and how he got into such a situation.  He was really calm about the whole thing and eased my worry about that he wasn't seriously injured.  I could not get him up to standing though, he was like dead weight trying to lift so I called Mark and asked him if he was nearby to come quick.  He in turn called the Dock Master who came and helped me get the poor old guy up and walked him with his cane to his boat.  It was all really disturbing and while most people are frightened that one of my children will fall overboard I am now far more concerned about the more likely event that we find this poor old man to have fallen overboard when no one is around! What if I hadn't happened to come home?! I am all for living your dream but you should also know your limitations.  It was really scary!

Weekends on a boat

First of all highlights from the week!
Most recent- for the last two nights Jacob has slept through the night!!! Please Please let this stick.... going to bed at 10pm and waking up at 6:00am with no feeding interruptions in between is all I want for Christmas! :)
Secondly, Marley was a STAR in her Christmas Concert.  She truly stole the show and had us all cracking up. Videos to be posted to facebook soon.
Finally, Mark and I had a successful date night for the first time in probably over a year and a half.  Our last one was the summer before last on our anniversary.

We live in paradise!

This weekend (Sunday night) I realised I had not driven my car since Wed! Thursday night Grammy and Popop picked up Marley and brought her home and on Friday Jacob and I took the ferry into town to Marley's concert where we met daddy on the Scout (the work boat), on Saturday oh no wait.... Saturday we drove the car to pick up our Christmas tree (the last Cedar Tree for sale on the island and def the runt of the litter). Either way, the point is we finally spent some time actually behaving like we lived on a boat!  On Friday we had the tender in town for Marley's concert and the weather couldn't have cooperated  more for a beautiful moonlight cruise home after a celebratory dinner with the family.
On Saturday after our decorating errands Mark and I had our first date night where we took the tender into Flatts for a wonderful dinner and then home again.  Although we should really have 1) taken part in the boat parade or 2) at least gone to see the boat parade by boat; we had decided on this weekend weeks ago and were determined to spend some time just the two of us.  It just happened that it was the biggest boating weekend of the winter as it was the Bermuda boat parade and that it was a perfect weather weekend.  Really we should have taken Blew Horizon out and anchored off somewhere with the kids but i'm glad we finally took time for us, it was well over due.  Don't worry my steady followers, all jokes aside, we are not expecting anymore for a while.  Having an almost 3 yr old and a baby on a boat is plenty for now!
Yesterday we also decided to take the boat in to visit with Nana and Pa before a beautiful tribute to Adam and others who have died.  There is a World Wide Candle Lighting that takes place for children who have died and will never be forgotten.  Friends of Mark's family who also lost a son the month before Adam invited us round along with another family who recently lost a son to take part in this event.  If there are any readers following this who have lost or know someone who has lost a child it is a beautiful ceremony and worth reading about if you don't know about it already. 
The ride back along north shore home was a little different than the calm weekend cruises we had experienced.  The wind had picked up a bit and the wind direction was not in our favour for a smooth ride home.  With a worn out toddler on one knee and a zonked baby on the other I clutched them for dear life while holding my food against the cabin door to keep it from slamming back and forth.  Mark at the helm, kept glancing over and asking if I was ok, all I could do was grind my teeth and smile and give him the one thumb up, after all this is what its all about; riding the seas both rough and calm because as a very famous person once said; "You can never cross the sea, unless you have the courage to loose sight of the shore".

Night Rider

Well its been difficult lately to find something to post about.  All day I think of things to tell the world but recently all the mini dramas and stories that come to mind do not have much to do with raising babies on boats.  It's important to me to keep with this theme although recently we haven't had much boat action.

On Tuesday night we went for an evening cruise with Auntie Lizzie.  It was the day after the government changed the ferry to the winter schedule.  Boy does it suck! Not only do I now have to wait until 10:00 until I can leave town in the mornings after my walk (I had gotten to the point where I could make the 9:10 ferry after only arriving at 8:20) but the last ferry to Dockyard leaves Hamilton at 4:15.  Although I am not a regular working commuter... that sucks! Anyone who lives on a boat in Dockyard- or even lives in Dockyard for that matter and has a regular 9-5 in town can not use public transportation to commute.  That is just silly.  There has been quite a bit of adjusting in our little community to this schedule.  Today and yesterday we were the only boaters on the ferry in the morning and there have been many people stranded in town.  On Tuesday night after we dropped Auntie Lizzie back in town to her bike and grabbed a little something to eat from that great grease pit on the wharf there was a lady who was stranded in town.  She had just moved onto her boat last week and was unable to get back to Dockyard.  I suppose like hurricanes a little distress with the new schedule will only bring our little growing community closer together.

Night Rider Strider!

Tonight in an attempt to get Marley sleepy (we have a bit of a hard time putting her to bed, even after a long day at school and then a play in the park with Nana and Auntie Abbie!) we took an evening walk out to the pier.  I used to do this every night when I was pregnant with Marley. That is the nice thing about Dockyard in the winter... just when you get sick of all the tourists the disappear for a few months and the place becomes quiet and peaceful, then when you are about to go mad with the silence they reappear with all their karaoke and silly questions.  On the way back to the boat, we stopped to my poor damaged car (I scratched it bad on Tues afternoon :( of course right after paying for it to be insured and tested for TCD) to leave the pram in it (we still don't have a dock box).  We also grabbed Marley's Strider bike (def something to look into if you have a toddler!) to put back on the boat.  She decided she was up for a little night ride to the dock.  She was hilarious with her little pink helmet balancing her way along the road and then down the rap to the dock shouting "RIDER coming through... RIDER!!!" LOL we gave her the nickname 'Night Rider" for the night and then off to bed. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my1TAI3rulo