Since I always try to learn from my mistakes, today I: 1) didn’t give the kids a choice about where we were going, 2) left immediately after breakfast to minimize the risk that they would lose the privelege before we could get out the door, and 3) took Norah to day care.

We got to the aquarium about a half-hour before the Imax movie started, and breezed right up to the member services desk past about 200 people waiting in line for tickets. Then we headed directly to the area where they let the bravest of the kids touch sea creatures because that area is always insane. We beat the rush and the kids had plenty of opportunities to traumatize the starfish and hermit crabs.

There was hardly anyone in the movie theater and I humored the kids by sitting in the very top row. I haven’t been to an Imax movie in YEARS. The movie was Under the Sea, and it was awesome! It was in 3D, and it was realistic enough that Aliya reached out at least 20 times as if she could touch something in front of her and Adlani almost peed his pants every time a cuttlefish ate a poor unsuspecting minnow. It was a pretty benign movie…the shark didn’t devour anybody and the most traumatic part was when the turtle ate the jellyfish (Aliya whispered, “Doesn’t that hurt the jellyfish?”).

After the movie we went back into the aquarium so the kids could collect all 6 turtle stamps in their passports…I swear they didn’t look at anything except the stamping stations. It was SO FRIGGIN CROWDED – I’ve never seen it that bad. When we left, the line was zig-zagged back and forth inside the tent in front of the ticket area, all the way down to the street, and then turned 90 degrees and extended another 200 people toward Rowe’s Wharf. It was unbelievable!

We had lunch at Legal’s and they sat us right next to the fish tank. We bought a few books at the aquarium (including “Los Pinguinos” for Aliya’s classroom), so the kids had plenty to entertain them. They were very well-behaved and we actually enjoyed lunch. I even got to make some calls on the way home because they were both passed out.

Now if only the little monster would begin her transformation into a human being, maybe I wouldn’t need to be medicated for family outings. A mom can dream, right?

A giant tanker in the mist and the loooooong line for tickets. I would pay the $100 for membership just to move to the front of this line!

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Given my current frame of mind, this article caught my eye. I’m not saying that I condone what she did or that I would have driven away, but I can definitely understand how a parent could be pushed far enough that they leave their kids on the side of the road. At least she probably knows a good attorney. I wonder if they could arrest me for leaving the car AND the kids on the side of the road and walking home myself.

Police Say Mom Ordered Daughters Out, Drove Off

Usually, it’s an empty threat: “If you kids don’t stop fighting, I’m going to stop this car right now and leave you here!” But a mother from an upper-crust New York suburb went through with it, ordering her battling 10- and 12-year-old daughters out of her car in White Plains’ business district and driving off, police said Tuesday.

Madlyn Primoff, 45, a partner in a Manhattan law firm, pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge of endangering a child. A temporary order of protection was issued, barring her from contact with the children, who were physically unharmed.

Primoff’s lawyer, Vincent Briccetti, would not comment Tuesday on details of the case. But he said, “Madlyn is a great mother connected with a great family, and she is grateful for the outpouring of support from friends and family.”

There wasn’t much support from strangers, however. Mothers interviewed near the scene said they couldn’t imagine doing what Primoff did, though some understood the urge.

Iris Gorodess, 49, of Mahopac, who has four children ranging from 10 to 19 years old, said she sympathized with Primoff’s actions, right up to the point where she pulled away.

“I used to pull over and make the kids change seats. Also, I make sure the kids have their iPods and their games. And I have a minivan, so they’re not up my neck all the time.

“But I can’t see pulling away. That has to be too scary for the children.”

White Plains police said Primoff ordered the arguing girls out of the car Sunday evening as they were driving home. She left them at Post Road and South Broadway, an area of shops and offices 3 miles from their home, then drove off, the police report said.

The report does not say whether the girls had cell phones.

Police would not say if Primoff ever returned to look for the girls, but they said, without explaining how, that the 12-year-old eventually caught up with the mother. The 10-year-old was found by a “Good Samaritan” on the street, upset and emotional about losing her mother, police said.

The girl gave police her mother’s name and their address in well-to-do Scarsdale, and they asked Scarsdale police to check Primoff’s $2 million house. Shortly afterward, Primoff called Scarsdale police from home to say the 10-year-old was missing, said Scarsdale Detective Lt. Bryant Clark.

He directed her to White Plains police headquarters, where she was arrested.

Dr. Richard Gersh, director of psychiatric services at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in Manhattan, said Primoff’s behavior was not appropriate.

“It is a traumatic situation for a child to be abandoned by a parent like that. You can imagine what emotional issues might arise,” he said.
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So far, not good. I decided to take some vacation time this week so that we’d all enjoy spring break more than winter break, when I spent all day every day trying to work around the monsters. I planned a fun local activity for each day this week, with the idea that after a fun (and tiring) day, I would have the late afternoon and evening to keep up on email and phone calls.

I made my first mistakes very early on in the day…1) I allowed them to have a vote on the planned activity, and 2) I had a couple of chores on the agenda before the planned activity, with expectations that when we completed the chores, we’d have our activity as a reward. I guess there was also a mistake #3…I expected this to work with Norah home from day care. She is in a pretty bad phase right now – extremely adorable and extremely naughty – a bad combo.

So the plan for today was that we’d pack a picnic and go watch the marathon for a while. My trainer from the Y was pushing a guy in a wheelchair for 10 miles and I wanted to support her, plus it’s fun to watch the runners…well, for me anyway. The pre-fun task was to fill a box of crap from the playroom that could go to the school yard sale. The playroom is not currently passable. It is SO FULL OF JUNK.

Well, nobody wanted to go to the marathon, so I came up with the backup plan of a picnic at the playground followed by free swim at the Y later in the afternoon. With all of the screaming, fighting, and general disobedience that went on all day, everyone spent time in time-out (at least 10 times for Norah) and we did nothing fun. The highlight of my day was to clean the shower grout so I could hide in the shower and the screaming would be slightly muted.

Oh well, tomorrow’s a new day. Norah will be back at day care and I’m going to take the other two to the early show at the Imax at the aquarium. It will be crazy with all the tourists, but we are members so hopefully we can get in and out before the throng arrives.
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I finished this book today and I can’t remember the last time I was so emotionally affected by a book. For most of the book it was just an entertaining read with lots of 70’s and 80’s references, but I cried through the last 20 minutes. I had to hide from Ben and the kids so they wouldn’t think I was losing it.

From the New York Times bestselling author of On Mystic Lake comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . .

In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all—beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.

Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone’s Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it’s the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It’s about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you—and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you’ll never forget . . . one you’ll want to pass on to your best friend.
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Late last night I heard tons of police cars and helicopters so I knew something big was up. It happened in downtown Framingham, not that close to our house, but only about 2 1/2 miles away.
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Framingham Officer Shot in Face
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FRAMINGHAM – A Framingham police officer was shot twice last night, once in the face, while responding to a report of an armed robbery on Beaver Street.
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The officer, who was not identified early this morning, was struck in the face and wrist. He was rushed by MedFlight helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital. His condition was not known, but police said his injuries were not considered life-threatening.
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Police Lieutenant Paul Shastany, the department spokesman, said the shooting occurred at about 10:45 p.m. Shastany would not say where the robbery occurred.
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When the officers arrived, they saw two men who matched the description of the robbers. “The suspects immediately shot at the officers,” Shastany said.
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A chase ensued as more police officers arrived. At one point, one officer chased a suspect behind a building, where the officer was shot, according to Shastany.
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At least one of the suspects was arrested early this morning, Shastany said. He would not say whether the arrested suspect was the person who shot the officer. The man was not identified.
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A search was in progress early this morning for the second suspect. Framingham police were assisted by law enforcement from Ashland, Sherborn, Natick, and from the Massachusetts State Police and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Police used helicopters and dogs to search the area.
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“It’s obviously a tragedy,” Jason Smith, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said last night. “My compassion goes out to him and his family.”
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