Really bad day for the Honda!

About a week before Allstate's annual list of Best and Worst Drivers in the country was released, we were in our first car accident!

The list for the worst driver's included #1 Worchester (a suburb of Boston) and #2 Boston itself)

While this is the first time Massachusetts has made the list, it's the first time they have been included in the list!

check it out:  http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/08/26/surprising-one-massachusetts-cities-riskiest-drivers/

I can't say that I am surprised, the city is nuts! No streets signs, lanes end without warning, and people use their horns like it's a blinker!

We use a GPS religiously, and I am at 10 and 2 the entire time!

Jordan spent the month of August at one of the VA Hospitals in the Boston area, meaning he took the car everyday driving 20-30 minutes to work each day. One particular day, we all piled in the care to take "dada" to work so the girls could take the car to play!

I was driving when we approached one of two DOUBLE LANE ROUNDABOUTS in morning traffic--ick!

Long story short, I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting a car that cut in front of me causing us to get rear-ended!

No one was injured, the hit felt more like a bumper car at the fair. I am not even sure Stella understood what happened. Thank goodness I had brushed my teeth before walking out the door!

We exchanged information and finished our trek to drop off Jordan to the hospital

 

                                 

the damage

But we didn't let this little fender bender rain on our parade, we headed to the town of Chatham, Cape Cod

                                     

The day was perfect, gorgeous really, and we just let the kids play! 

 While it may look like a regular beach, it's quite different! The water was freezing! The sand was a little thicker and as pictured (not white) 

But the day for the Honda was not over. A thunderstorm came through the area as we were leaving and when we hit the interstate, we had a hail storm for about ten minutes. 

I just had to laugh! Jordan and I pay a monthly fee to park our car in a covered garage to "protect" our car from the "Boston bump" (people purposefully bump your car to parallel park) and the weather….and lo and behold, we are here a month and have a car accident and hail exposure in one day!

Jazz Baby!

**I have been a little under the weather but feel much better now! Continuing the catch up!**

Stella and I met Sarah, Luke and Baby Molly at the Boston Public Library for Jazz music one morning!
Stella loved the music….she was a little intimidated the first day we attended music for toddlers but she really enjoyed dancing and listening to the music this time!

 The jazz group was really impressive, they play in bands all over Boston, and one man even conducted the Boston Pops for a New Year's Eve performance!

After all the moving and shaking, Luke and Stella worked up an appetite! Lunch at Firehouse Subs

This is how we roll!

Stella and I are enjoying our mornings in Boston.

One park that I love to visit is on the Charles River. It is a good walk from the apartment, so I get to exercise there and back while Stella is able to get her wiggles out once we get there! The park is in Back Bay neighborhood….think tree lined streets and brownstones! So pretty.

Water…check…milk…check…snacks…check!

Beautiful view…(Boston in front and on the right while Cambridge and MIT is on the left!)

her pediatrician asked if she was climbing
My answer, "She makes me a nervous wreck!"

our landmark that we are almost home

Most days we go back home for lunch. This day we stopped at Panera and Stella had a turkey and cheese sandwich with a yogurt **exactly what we have at home!!

Day Trips....yes please.

Parking a car in Boston is not an easy task (in my opinion.) It's definitely not a cheap decision! We went back and forth about whether to have a car here, it is a very walkable city, but one thing we knew is that we would want the car to explore the New England area.

We have actually used the car a good bit! We take our normal weekly monthly trips to Target and Jordan is actually driving the care three months this year to the VA hospital in a neighboring suburb.

Jordan and I have mapped out new places to explore and we are open to suggestions as well! 

One recommendation was from Jordan's program director from residency to visit Portsmouth, NH.

So one weekend, we woke up on Saturday and headed out of town!

We arrived and had lunch at a local brewery…Jordan's favorite

Portsmouth is a small quaint town beautiful old homes….old as in built in 1807!!

We drove back on 1A, a scenic highway that drives through many little coastal towns in New England that will drive you straight back to Boston. So fun! Lots of antique shops and sleepy little towns. We found several clam shacks with lines out of the door! And then we found fresh lobsters on the side of the road! YUM!

We stopped in Salem and Stella played on their common! 

It was a great day to explore, we can't wait to go again soon!

Howdy partner!

Stella at Two Years Old

When we moved, we changed health insurance and I knew that I wanted to find a pediatrician and meet him/the practice before we really needed them for an illness!

We were lucky to have a recommendation from a new neighbor and friend (Thanks Stephanie!) and we made an appointment ASAP.

I am one of those weird people that enjoy going to the doctor, I like having a conversation about what we are working on with language and potty training and big girl bed, maybe a sibling?!, discipline, and other fun stuff that little two years like to develop this year!

AND your appointments drop off after two. Typical MDs will not see your toddler after 2 until 3! Crazy, I feel like babies and toddlers change so much. I took full opportunity for another visit!

Stella was such a big girl. We walked to the clinic which is right across the street from the Children's Hospital in Boston.

Cow's horn was hurt and he needed to go to the doctor too (P.S. Cow goes EVERYWHERE with us!)

The staff was so welcoming and made Stella feel special immediately.

I was so surprised and impressed that the nurse that checked us in was an RN and not a medical assistant or nurses' assistant. There's a difference, for sure!

She immediately bent down to speak to Stella, included Stella's cow in their measurements, and explained everything in two year old talk!

I felt so reassured that we were in the right place!

We loved meeting the pediatrician too! He was very kind and Stella warmed up to him quickly. We have a doctor kit that we always "practice" with so she knows what all of his instruments are for during the examination!

see what I mean….

We discussed Stella's speech (she's quiet and known to get her point across in a string of one word sentences), we also talked about her pacifier (she only uses it for nap and bedtime) and she is in love! **We are working on Operation "NO more PACI now**

Stella has adjusted so well to our new city after the move! It's so fun to watch her learn and grow! I love watching her reach new milestones that she has accomplished!

After her visit, the pediatrician thought Stella should have an ultrasound follow up after a UTI that we had last fall. So later in the week, we headed to Children's Hospital and Stella was great!

 She was great for the ultrasound and the results were normal, no physical abnormalities seen. YAY!
So thankful for this healthy little girl!

Our new neighborhood

If you know Jordan and I well, you know that we plan. EVERYTHING.

It's our nature and we both are more comfortable that way. We were very fortunate to have almost a year to plan our big move and most of the year was spent talking and perseverating over where we should live, how we should live and what everything was going to cost! 

We knew our time would be finite in Boston, and we wanted to get the most of the city. So far, I have noticed that many people live in their neighborhood meaning, each neighborhood within Boston has its own amenities! Very similar to moving to a suburb and being able to drive ten minutes to everything! 

We knew we wanted to be in the middle of it all, within reason, of course!

Just an evening stroll in the neighborhood….Jordan was trying to find tickets!

Unreal that we live here

 We are fortunate to have a couple of GREAT parks right in our neighborhood

And great friends to share the park with as well!

Our little courtyard in our building….perfect for getting a little energy OUT!


One other great part about our neighborhood is that our grocery store is literally across the street! It's so convenient. Within a couple of weeks, I knew I was going to have to break down and buy a cart to help carry our groceries! 

SO EXCITED!

Not a bad way haul back your week full of groceries!

We are definitely spoiled by our amenities (check out the eatery behind Stella and Jordan in the picture above!) Hopefully, all these goodies will come in handy when winter settles in!