Newburyport Today

Whiny Wednesday by Robin O'Malley

Editor's Note - "Whiny Wednesdays" is a weekly series that focuses on giving caregivers fun ideas to do locally.  The result being that Whiny Days are no more!  We are always looking for guest posters for this series, please email us if you're interested.  talk@newburyport-today.com

Knuffle Bunny.  If this means anything to you, then you know where I’m going with my story. 

I return from our vacation and throw a small load in … of course I did laundry on my vacation! And cooked and cleaned.  What other kind of vacation is there?  Anyway… I throw in a small load and oh no!  I can hear the agitator squeaking, beeping sounds from the console and flashing lights --- I ignore it.  I ignore it until I can no longer ignore it.  The Maytag man holds me ransom for $100.00 for the verdict.  Low and behold, the part for my Australian washing machine, that I purchased because it was going to help me be more “green”, won’t be in for quite some time.  Ok, so how many days can I air dry beach towels?   Will the kids notice if they even run out of underwear?  Would it be inappropriate to wear my hardly worn formal wear to the market? As I let my mind freakishly wander, I pack it up and head to the Laundromat.  I’m selling the idea to the girls and they have little sense of where we’re going, but they’re on board. 

 

What a wondrous place!  First of all, the place was clean, smelled of mountain fresh spring and was completely empty.  (Not how I envisioned this at all.) The girls looked at the machines in strange awe.  They helped load the machines, took turns putting the money in the slots and them pressed their faces up to the round window to watch the waterfall.  They were digging it!!! Could this be considered an outing?  Soon, their heads were spinning, and then they added their own dance moves and giggled themselves silly.

 

We left the wash cycles to do their magic and we loaded into the car to run some errands.  The girls chatted away about the “water raining in the machine …” and “I saw bubbles!” as I drove to my next destination.  Literally, five minutes go by and one of my girls is whaling … WE FORGET THE CLOTHES MOMMY!!! This was worse than losing Knuffle Bunny*.  Then one sobbing girl wasn’t enough.  There had to be two sobbing girls to make the stereo effect come to life.  I pulled the car over, opened the minivan doors to explain the idea of the Laundromat --- Believe me girls!  The loads of whites, mediums and darks will be there when we get back.  They weren’t buying it.  Waaaaahhhhh!  They finally settled down and we headed back to the Laundromat after a quick errand.  Oh … happy, happy, joy, joy.  We took the wet clothes out, put them in the ‘really big’ dryers, added our coins, swung our heads around, did our silly dance and we were back in business.  Once we are set up I tell the girls … The clothes will dry and then it will be our turn to take them out and fold them and bring them home.  Literally, wash-rinse-repeat, the girls are whaling at the traffic light less than a mile away … WE FORGOT THE CLOTHES MOMMY!!! (in unison).

 

With big brother as a helper, we head back to get our duds.  He entertains the girls and makes a quick game of counting washers, counting dryers, searching for loose change and the highlight, --- riding in the wire baskets.  We folded our clothes, packed our Rubbermaid tubs into the minivan with our mountain spring fresh clothes and headed home.

At dinner, everyone reminisced about the days adventure. My husband, I hope, gave me an invisible pat on the back.  The girls asked, “When we will go back to the washing machine place?”. I had to let the girls know that the part for our ‘green’ washing machine won’t be here any time soon.  Wash-rinse-repeat!  I hope we can handle it!

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Williams is a fun story about a girl who loses her favorite bunny at the Laundromat.  Check it out the local library or at one of the two bookstores in town.

*** Robin O'Malley is a Newburyport resident and a teacher at the Brown School. 

Whiny Wednesdays from The Newburyport Mother's Club

Editor's Note - "Whiny Wednesdays" is a weekly series that focuses on giving caregivers fun ideas to do locally.  The result being that Whiny Days are no more!  We are always looking for guest posters for this series, please email us if you're interested.  talk@newburyport-today.com

Newburyport Mother's Club, a local all-volunteer social club that boasts over 700 area families as members, is excited to contribute to "Whiny Wednesdays"!  We will be providing information about community events and things to do, as well as our exclusive events for NMC members.  To find out more about joining Newburyport Mothers Club, visit us ONLINE HERE

I don’t know whether it’s the summer nights getting darker, the fact that back-to-school makes things feel so much busier than usual, or I’ve hit my limit of grilling for a while, but something about braving a restaurant with the kiddos sounds a little more appealing as Fall begins to make an appearance. While end-of-summer al fresco dining should of course be savored as long as possible, if you’re getting a hankering for a night away from the kitchen or BBQ, here are some suggestions from many NMC moms for kid-friendly restaurants in the area. Bon Appetite!

“For family friendly dining we tend to stick to the "casual dining" choices. We like Flatbread in Amesbury, Not Your Average Joe's and The Grog in NBPT for quick family dinners. Abraham's for bagel breakfast or Mad Martha's or Angies for quick breakfast or lunches.”

A group of us (5 families = 10 parents and 12 kids (ages 2-7) & 1 infant) went to lunch at the new Port Tavern in Newburyport after a Mother’s Club event, and they were wonderful to us!”

“Bugaboo Creek (locations in Methuen and Peabody) is always welcoming to kids too, and they have a good kids menu.”

“Barking Dog in Amesbury - the food is really good!”

“I really like Salvatore's in Lawrence (owned by Sal's Pizza but has many other options too - similar to Bertucci’s). We go a little early and play at Imajine That (located upstairs), put our names on the waiting list while playing and then have dinner. A great spot to meet up with other families too because the kids burn off energy before dinner.”

“We like to go to Flatbread in Amesbury (always inspiring watching the wood burning stone oven) and Sylvan Street Grille in Salisbury (good drinks for the parents, cheap easy meals for the kids).”

“The American BBQ in Rowley. They have free popcorn and peanuts to keep the kids entertained until their meals are ready. No waitress service- you order and then pick up when they call your number. Fun and easy.”

“I second The Barking Dog - it is our daughter's favorite. We also like Mad Martha's on Plum Island for breakfast - it is small and you may need to wait but it is right across from the beach and the food is very tasty.”

 

“We love Border Cafe in Saugus. It's loud, lots going on and they give the kids balloons. It's one of our favorite spots. They also have a Kid's menu with $2.95 entrees.”

“We've also gone to David's Tavern in Newburyport if we don't want to leave our son home, but we'd like to sit and eat for a bit alone. They have a great playcare there. They have even brought our son out to say hi to us and he gladly took the girl's hand to go back and play until we were done. You can order the kids' food to be delivered in the playcare or at your table.”

“We went to The Port Tavern recently and they were excellent and the kids menu is better than most. Nice atmosphere and they can be loud and nobody cares. The grown up menu is really nice and not overly expensive!”

Whiny Wednesdays- Beach Rocks

Editor's Note - "Whiny Wednesdays" is a weekly series that focuses on giving caregivers fun ideas to do locally.  The result being that Whiny Days are no more!  We are always looking for guest posters for this series, please email us if you're interested.  talk@newburyport-today.com

My family and I just returned from our summer vacation.  Not just a regular vacation where you visit family members, attend a college reunion or go somewhere that is easy and practical.  We took a brave leap and went on a beach vacation.  A two-week beach vacation --- the first week to get acclimated to the vacation, and the second week to enjoy the vacation.  This is a vacation where the main source of fun is when you go to the beach every day!  Not only do you need all of the appropriate gear for a day at the beach, you also need to have a variety of swimsuit attire, a keen eye to seek out public restrooms and the sheer stamina to be ‘one’ with the beach for more than five minutes.

I planned every detail of beach living … beach wagon, comfortable chairs, sand toys, a cooler to fit a day of snacks, umbrella for shade, camera, etc.  Don’t forget sunscreen.  There would be no quitters! I knew the kids were going to LOVE IT!  I knew I was going to love it!  Something about the day at the beach that rejuvenates the soul and exhausts kids.  I’m reliving my own childhood vacations.  I remember combing the beach for treasures; arrange them in the sand and creating a castle fit for a sea princess. In anticipation that my kids would want to bring home every shell they found at each of the beaches we visited, I convinced them that one shell a day would do.  On a couple days we created Beach Rocks with all of the treasures they found.  It was fun and easy and now we have beautiful memories of our vacation.   Here is how we did it:

Hints

1. Pre-measure the Plaster of Paris ($3.00 at Walmart) into individual bags, before you go to the beach.  Add the right amount of water to the bag and use it to mix up the plaster. 

2. Read the mixing directions and setting times on the package before you leave home or bring them with you.

3. Dig a shallow hole, make a hand/footprint impression that is over one inch deep

4. Think about the items you are choosing for your beach rock, handprint, footprint --- whatever you decide to create.  Shells, rocks, and dried seaweed work fine.  Wet seaweed may smell and change size as it dries over time. 

5. Mix the plaster with ocean water.  The Plaster of Paris should be about an inch thick when you pour it into your impression.

6. Let it set for at least 30 minutes before carefully digging it out of the sand.  Be careful that no one steps on it.  Let it dry in the sun for the rest of the day.  Gently pack it up to keep it in one piece until you get home.

7. Display it on the mantle when you get home.

 

Whiny Wednesday: Hit the Beach

Editor's Note - "Whiny Wednesdays" is a weekly series that focuses on giving caregivers fun ideas to do locally.  The result being that Whiny Days are no more!  We are always looking for guest posters for this series, please email us if you're interested.  talk@newburyport-today.com

Just this week it has really felt like summer.  The weather has been cooperative and we are finally in "the groove" so to speak of juggling work and camp.

It seemed like a great day for a picnic, so when the kids got off the bus at 4:00 we decided it was time for dinner on the beach. We grabbed some sandwiches from the corner market and headed over the bridge for Salisbury Beach.  Fingers crossed the that the greenheads would have cleared out, and pockets stuffed with change (more on that in a few). 

We arrived just as most folks were packing up, which was perfection as far as we were concerned.  The kids immediately ditched me and ran for the water, the tide pretty high and I patted myself on the back for insisting on the swimming lessons they all hated.  There was the usual teasing of each other, but something in their attitude seemed to have shifted and it was somehow more good natured than usual.

Something about being at the beach seems to flip a switch in us (is this just our family?) It's fun to get sandy and messy, to swim and to just BE. After a while in the water they were ready to eat and we opened the cooler and dug in.  The sun was still high in the sky and I had all my boys with with me and not a cell phone in sight.  More perfect, it could not have been. 

Another hour digging and burying each other and we packed it in.  Heading off the beach we stopped to hose off some of the sand and salt, but mostly just trudged our stuff the car.  We headed just down the strip to Joes Playland amongst a gaggle of "sick" and "thanks mom" once the destination was revealed.  We divided up the quarters and once again I was ditched. No worries though, the place is small and they have to find me for more quarters!  We got some ice cream (soft served dips) and made our way back to the car, still sandy and now sticky.  Totally fine though, showers for everyone upon the return home. 

 

Whiny Wednesday: Newburyport Whale Watch

So with our favorite poster Robin O'Malley off to "the Vineyard" (must be nice) we had to take the bull by the horns (or in this case the whale by his dorsal?) and find a fun kid friendly activity to share with you.  We packed drinks and extra sunscreen and headed off to the Newburyport Whale Watch, thinking it might make a fun post for whiny Wednesday, and it turned out to be AMAZING.  I must admit our expectations were low, it seemed kinda touristy, kind of silly, but we figured the kids would have fun on the boat and if we saw a whale or two out in the distance that would be great.  We were SO VERY WRONG.  It was like being on a National Geographic cruise!  The kids ran from side to side scanning the seas and almost everywhere we looked, Whales!  And not off in the distance, right along side the boat.  Almost waving to us. 

Aboard the ship was a naturalist from Blue Ocean.  Her detailed and enthusiastic narration kept the kids interested and searching the whole trip.  We loved her descriptions as she helped us find the "fluke" and look for the mist of the whales blowing water.  She described the way whales sleep by "logging" and had us all searching for the whale's lime green underbelly that was colored due to algae. Everywhere on the boat kids where engaging with their parents "did you see the tail?", "oh my gosh, look there at the spout". 

There were no bad spots on the Prince of Whales we were able to see the whales from almost all angles, and it was easy to maneuver little ones around.  The rails were a good height for viewing, as well as safety.  Best of all there was no where for the kids to escape to it was fine for them to run the other side as the whale crossed our bow.  "He's going there, he's going there!"  

We took these photos, but the photos on the Blue Ocean Society's Site are just incredible.  Click here to see more.  We really can't say enough about what a great family outing this was.  In fact we feel badly that we did not do this sooner.  What an amazing resource to have literally right here in our own back yard.  Get out there!

For more information Click Below: 

Newburyport Whale Watch 
Blue Ocean Society