fried hot dogs

This glorious Memorial Day weekend we fulfilled yet another one of our top priorities here in CT by going to Rawley's Drive In (aka...Martha Stewart's favorite place to eat a hot dog.) They are unique from other run-a-the-mill hot dog stands because they fry their hot dogs, then grill them to seal in the juices. Yes, I just said they FRY the dogs. I know, I know you never knew there existed a way to make hot dogs any worse for your arteries than they already are. I felt the same. But clearly you, and I, were mistaken. However, we were not deterred by these cardiac bombs. On the contrary...we ordered two dogs with "the Works" (mustard, relish, sauerkraut, and crispy fried bacon), a chili-dog and fries to split, and of course grilled cheese for the little guy since he won't touch a hot dog with a ten foot pole. (i guess i should be glad about that, but it's embarrassing when we go to a BBQ like we did this evening and all the other kids are eating hot dogs with mustard and ketchup smeared all over their faces and Isaac is only interested in yogurt.)


Oh yeah. This was a taste explosion! You bite and the bacon crunches, then sour, then sweet, then salty, juicy dog and spicy mustard. We were both speechless, just looking at each other after every bite mumbling something with our mouths full that possibly resembled, "this hot dog is AMAZING!"...or something of the like.


Are you drooling yet? I am...again.

As for the rest of the weekend, we enjoyed the outdoors as much as possible by turning our tiny strip of grass in the back into a trailer park pool-side getaway. Isaac is still hesitant to get in the pool, so he just splashes with his hands and then throws in rocks and balls. He'll get there. It mostly had to do with the fact that the water in the pool never had a chance to warm up. Hey, we were just going on past experience. Growing up in Texas...we would fill the pool and you had an immediate window of about 15-20 minutes to frolic and splash before it turned from a kiddie pool into a mini hot tub. Keith and I learned our lesson. Next time, we will fill the pool several hours in advance to allow for the water to go from frigid to tolerable.

Hope y'all had a wonderful holiday weekend. To all those who have sacrificed to serve our country themselves...or to those who have lost loved ones in service to our country...I say THANK YOU!! God bless you. I love you.

(Ernesto...siempre te voy a echar de menos! estefani)

oh my NOLA

New Orleans, LA is where we spent last weekend for an enchanting wedding reception in City Carousel Park. (i say wedding reception because we missed the ceremony due to an extremely delayed flight.) The story is as follows...

On Friday afternoon we were supposed to leave Hartford, bound for New Orleans, with a short layover in DFW. Much to our dismay, we learned our flight was delayed 3 hours, which conveniently meant we were going to miss our connecting flight to NOLA. Okay, not that bad. I could deal with that. My family could pick us up, we could stay the night, and head out first thing in the morning. We made it to DFW airport where a very cordial gate agent informed us the earliest flight she could confirm us on the next day wasn't until 4:50...arrival 6:15. Eh hem...the wedding was at 7:00. Okay. Fine. I'm some how still managing to deal, and laugh, as I watch my poor, delirious, exhausted child walk across the nasty carpeted airport floor in his pj bottoms attempting to chase after a sleeping woman's small, brown, carry-on bag saying, "puppy, woof! puppy!!". Ah, honey. Come on. Let's go get our suitcase and go to Grandma and Grandad's. It's time for night night. We ALL need night night.

We made it to baggage claim, and...yep, you guessed it. No suitcase. We go to the claims desk, the baggage guy types in our number and informs us they are "holding" our bag for the 6:00 a.m. flight to New Orleans in the morning.

Me- Excuse me, holding? But, we're not on that flight...or the next one...or the next one...or the next one. What if we never make it to New Orleans?

Bag Guy- Well, we have to send your bag to New Orleans because that was the original code.

Me- But we are here...our bag is here...in this airport...where we are...and we can't have it? All of my son's things are in that bag. We could be here for almost 20 hours with nothing?

Bag Guy- Call this 1-800 number for help.

Keith- My son's medications are in that bag. We need his medications! (eh...Vitamin D counts, right?)

Bag Guy- Call this 1-800 number for help.

Me- I thought new security policy stated that luggage cannot be sent on a flight unless the passenger was also confirmed on the flight?

Bag Guy- Call this 1-800 number for help.

They held our bag for ransom, and we left the airport empty handed. I wasn't dealing well anymore. All ability to deal went out the window with Bag Guy. All coping gone when some dude told us that he had been calling that 1-800 number for 5 hours without speaking to anyone. Dealing was done. I was done. Isaac was conked in the backseat. And, well, at least Grandma and Grandad were thrilled to see us.

Thankfully my family rescued us, fed us, sheltered us, took us shopping for essentials, and then drove us back to the airport where we flew to NOLA, reunited with our luggage, did a super quick spruce up, and showed up for the reception. Whew! Oh, my NOLA!!

The End.

p.s. Let me say that we did eventually call that 1-800 number where I was informed our suitcase was assigned a recycled bag number with the name Linda Overton...that in the system, our bag would not be scanned and changed to our name until it arrived in New Orleans...AND...that in times of extreme weather, they don't worry about security and they just concern themselves with moving passengers and bags. HELLO!!! I sure hope some bad person is not reading this blog because...HELLO...that is really insane. Plus, once in NOLA, our bag sat in baggage claim, was not scanned in the appropriate 90 minute window, and one of Keith's family members just drove up there and grabbed it. Any Joe Shmoe could've grabbed our bag and it didn't even have our name assigned to it in the system! There are so many things wrong with this!!!!

Okay...I have purged. Enjoy these great pics!

the breakers

My sister Lauren, who is better known as LoLo, visited a few weeks ago. She came alone...no hubby...no kiddos. She enjoyed a great vacation, and we got her 100% attention while she was in town. We took a day trip, just the two of us. I took advantage of her willingness to tour Mark Twain's house in Hartford (amazing!) since that's not necessarily at the top of Keith's sight-seeing list. After we felt properly educated, we headed to the mall and shopped 'til we dropped! Then, on Saturday while my poor hubby worked all day in the ER, we loaded up Isaac and drove to Newport, RI. The day was perfectly picturesque and we could not have asked for more glorious weather. LoLo toured The Breakers, built in 1895 (the Vanderbilt family's 138,000 sq ft summer "cottage"...seriously), while Isaac and I played on the grounds. Luckily, I toured the mansion last summer because they would not permit me to enter with a stroller. It worker out great though because he LOVED the plush grass, the bugs, the birds, the squirrels, the dogs, the flowers, the trees, the benches...basically running free and exploring with no boundaries. Gosh, so did I!
















After LoLo left, Isaac wandered the house for a few days, turning corners and popping into rooms asking, "Wo-Wo? Wo-Wo?"

We miss you LoLo!!

central park zoo

Recently (well, it was a few weeks ago, but i'm a little behind with the bloggin'), we packed up and drove to NYC to spend the weekend with our cousins in Brooklyn. Zach, Jenn, and Wyatt, along with Chelsie, met us in Central Park. We started at the zoo and I could not help thinking about Madagascar when the animals put on a show for all the onlookers. The seals are the main attraction, in the center of the zoo, and they were striking poses and dancing on the rocks. It's as if I could hear them saying, "Oh yah girl, check me out!"


Overall, the zoo is fairly small, but perfect for a first timer. Isaac "ooo-ed" and "ahh-ed" at the animals and their habitats. I think his favorite part was the Rain Forest. Once inside, the climate was muggy, humid, and HOT! But, the trees were gorgeous and birds of all kinds were flying around free, perching on posts and rails just inches from our reach, swooping and diving near our heads. Isaac was loving it! Then there were the snakes, and lizards, and frogs...oh MY! Mommy was not a big fan of that, but the boys were.






We were able to see the polar bears swimming in the morning, and then sun-bathing in the afternoon. We saw penguins waddling above water, and zipping around under water. But the best part was watching Isaac's face. I will never forget.


















After we left the zoo, the rest of the day was spent strolling through Central Park and enjoying the gorgeous weather. Isaac could not believe all the dogs. "Puppy, wuf!" must have come out of his mouth 54 times. This kid has a serious obsession over dogs. He knows every house on our street that has a dog, but his favorite is the house on the corner where Wolfie lives. Returning home from daycare every day now includes pulling in the driveway, where Isaac begins to say (plead) "Puppy? Puppy?" over and over. So, we get out of the car and stroll down to see if Wolfie is in the yard so we can say hello through the white picket fence. Crazy kid. Anyway, here are a few more pictures of our trip to Central Park.