Knocker Support

So I've volunteered to be a doorknocker for Suzanne Lee's campaign.  Last night I made Nick play the role of homeowner, while I practiced my spiel. 

me: (knocking on door frame)

Nick:  Yes?

me: Hello, as you may know Suzanne Lee-

Nick: Get out of heah!

me: Yes, I will, but perhaps you might just review this pamphlet-

Nick: I don't want your pamphlet!

me: Well, perhaps you might accept this pamphlet... along with these freshly baked cookies!

Nick: (pretends to take imaginary cookies and slams imaginary door.)

me: Thank you for your vote!

This might be more difficult than I imagined.  Perhaps I'll start off with, "I am not trying to recruit you to some bizarre religion, nor am I asking you to buy stale chocolate to support youth football."

Dear Southie Residents & Visitors,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  It's my first one!  I am not in a place to judge, because I tend to wolf down my bottles and spit up all over myself, but please try and keep all public vomiting to a minimum today. 

A Guide to Day Care Centers Around the Boston Area

Pretty much the day after I found out I was pregnant, I started researching day care facilities near us. I had heard horror stories about waiting lists, sky-high tuition, etc. Since I will be returning to work full-time after my maternity leave is up, we needed to find full-time care. I liked the idea of the little one being out of the house during the day, hanging with little buddies and learning to get used to being around noise and groups of people, so we decided to actively explore day cares instead of nannies or nanny-shares.

Below is a list of centers we looked at- click on the links for location, contact info and hours of operations. I tried to include some info that's not necessarily listed on their websites, like fees and if there's a waiting list. Please note that this info may have changed since I first received it. I hope this brief guide can be helpful to others!

Labouré Child Care Center
I've lived in Southie for almost 9 years now, and walk by the Labouré Center on West Broadway several times a week; however, the tour we took in April was the first time I had been inside the building. The facility is very clean and safe, with 3 different rooms dedicated to infants and toddlers. The preschoolers are in a separate area; I was particularly impressed with preschool classrooms, as they were very bright and cheerful. The infant and toddler rooms seemed a little less inviting, but maybe that had something to do with the lighting. We met some infant teachers who were extremely friendly and took the time to answer our questions and tell us about a typical day. The Center staggers drop-off times, so when you're offered a spot, you're also told when you can drop off, which could potentially be inconvenient depending on when you have to be to work.
Fees for Infant/Toddler: $300 per week/$60 per day/$65 part time
Fees for Preschool: $215 per week/$43 per day
Waiting List: Daunting. We were told to call back after our baby is born to reiterate our interest and be added to the official waiting list.

The 2nd center we toured was...

KinderCare Learning Center on Atlantic Ave
This day care is not nearly as convenient to us as the Labouré Center would be, but there are enough bus and T options to make it work if you needed it to. This tour, unlike the first, took all of 15 minutes. Partly because the facility is a lot smaller and partly because the staff was busy juggling all the little ones being dropped off for the day. Overall, the center is very clean, bright and welcoming- just quite small. We also suffered a bit of sticker shock over the price, which they warned us goes up each September.
Fees for Infants (4 or 5 days): $493/week
Fees for Toddlers & Pre-School (4 or 5 days): $442/week
Fees for Pre-K (4 or 5 days): $347/week
Waiting List: None. They had spots available for late January/early February 2011.

2 other facilities we learned about, but haven't toured...
Bright Horizons at Harborview
Fees for Infants (5 days): $1875/month
Fees for Toddlers (5 days): $1550/month
Fees for Preschool (5 days): $1305/month
Waiting List: Unsure.

Columbia Point Infant and Toddler Day Care Program
Fees for Infants: $55/day
Waiting List: Unsure

Next we visited
Sunshine Child-Care
As soon as I walked into Sunshine Child-Care, I was impressed. After walking past the check-in/reception area, I was greeted by a small group of pre-schoolers sitting at a round table: "Good morning, Miss!" This tour, like the KinderCare tour, lasted maybe 15 minutes, because the infants, toddlers, and preschools are in the same big room, although the areas are sectioned off. The staff were actively engaged with the children, the facility is clean and bright with a real classroom feel to it. As I was leaving, it was so cute to see a group of children sitting in a circle being read to; most of them eagerly had their hands up waiting to be chosen to answer a question about the story. You could tell that both kids and adults were having a good time. It should also be noted that Sunshine Child-Care is a multi-lingual facility, from their website: "All programs are staffed with bi-lingual teachers speaking English, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese, or both.)"
Fees for Infants (5 days): $275/week
Fees for Toddlers (5 days): $250/week
Fees for Preschool (5 days): $185/week
Waiting List: Depends on when you are hoping to enroll

And finally, we visited:
Ellis Memorial & Eldridge House's Infant/Toddler Program
We learned about Ellis Memorial from friends of ours who go there. The tour probably lasted about 45 minutes, as the facility is housed in the first floor of a larger building. The infants are on one side of the hall, and the toddlers are on the other. I can't remember how many infant rooms there are, but each one was clean and welcoming and the staff was very friendly. I met my friends' baby, who was happily bouncing on a teacher's knee when we walked in. They have evening programs that involve the parents and families, a lending library and an area to leave your stroller for the day since many parents use public transportation to drop off/pick up.
Fees for Infants: $325/week
Fees for Toddlers: $325/week
Fees for Preschool : $195/week
Waiting List: Yes, but can get on the list as soon as you fill out an application, versus having to wait until the baby is born.

Got all that? Phew! We've been busy, but thankfully have chosen one of these facilities and have firm childcare plans in place.

Southie: Oscar the Grouch's Paradise

Over the past couple of weeks, I've noticed that Broadway is covered in trash. The sidewalks are disgusting; they're strewn with litter that floated out from cans on garbage day, but also with debris that residents have no problem tossing on the ground instead of in a bin. I can't tell you how many times I've seen actual grown adults walk out of the Hub or Tedeschi's and toss their snack food wrappers or lotto tickets on the ground without any shame. It's disgusting and disrespectful, and anyone over the age of 12 shouldn't have to be reminded not to litter.

East Broadway this morning on my way to the bus stop.

What's "the Situation"

THIS better not ever happen. Although there are about 100 tanning salons on Broadway, so I guess these people would be able to maintain their orange skin.

MTV- Keep the Jersey Shore cast out of South Boston!

Robots Have Feelings Too

For the past couple of weeks, I've had daily calls from either Brown or Coakley's campaign hassling me to vote for their candidate. These calls have gotten to be pretty annoying and even though I wouldn't pick up the phone when an unidentified number appeared on caller ID, I'd still have to listen to them as they left voice mails.

Yesterday, as I walked in the early morning down Broadway to Dorchester Street on my way to vote, even the candidate I was voting for had ticked me off in the end because I was so sick of the calls, the radio ads, the TV commercials, etc. Casting my vote, signified an end to being hassled by pleading recorded voices.

Last night, around 6:45 or so, the phone rang and I picked up without bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello?" It was another recorded message! I heard the following being rattled off quickly by some robotic voice:

I am just calling to remind you that today is Election Day and the polls are open until 8 PM.

"F*ck off!" I yelled into the phone and was about to hang up when I heard the recorded voice stop and say, "uh, excuse me?"

Whoops.

The Family that Runs Together, Stays Together

Over Memorial Day weekend, Nick, Brad and I ran Boston's Run to Remember. When we woke up Sunday morning around 6, the sky was dark and stormy. Exactly one hour later while we were leaving the house, the sun came out and we were treated to a beautiful sunny day! I'm proud to report that all 3 of us improved from last year!

(All photos below are from Brightroom.com. Click here to search for your own race photos.)

Despite having spent the past 3 days partying in Vegas, Nick finished in an impressive 2:08:11. (Last year he ran in 2:16:32.)

Spent the race thinking of ways to spend the couple hundred he won in Vegas

Brad consistently kicks our butts and finished in 1:55:55, which was almost a 5 minute improvement from last year's 2:00:40 time.

I can only speculate what caught his interest in this photo- let's just say it was the finish line

My goal was to run the race under 2 hours, and I was (barely!) able to do just that. I finished in 1:59:22, which was an improvement from last year's 2:07:56 finish.

Mugging for the camera on the bridge during mile 10 or so

I would especially like to congratulate my sister-in-law, Jodi, who just started running on a whim this past January. She ran the Buffalo Half Marathon this same day and kicked butt by finishing in 1:59:30 and 59/199 for her age group!

Eyes on the prize!

Congratulations everyone on a great race!

Running Makes Me Feel Old

One of my favorite road races is the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5 Miler. First of all, it's right in Southie, although it technically starts/ends in Dorchester at the Bayside Expo Center. Secondly, there's an awesome raffle. Each runner's bib number is automatically entered; one year, my friend won a free pair of sneakers. The best thing about this race though, is the race t-shirt. Over the years, I've donated quite a few race tees to the Goodwill, but I always keep the ones from this race because they're tank tops. Tank tops with the arm holes that go halfway down your ribcage. These shirts are awesome for hot summer runs.

Last week we received two applications in the mail and as I was just filling them out I realized that I would no longer be able to check off the 25-29 Division box! This year the race is being held on July 16th, which also happens to be my 30th birthday. I'm not sad about turning the big 3-0; however, it was definitely a little strange checking the 30-34 box. It made me feel old. Now I'll have to start acting my age bracket.

Farewell, sweet youth!

Deal or No Deal?!

I just received an email from Ivy Restaurant announcing a Pre-Marathon Carbo Load special.

On Sunday, April 19, Executive Chef Mark Cina is serving up bottomless bowls of spaghetti and meatballs for just $16.
Throw in a bottle of wine from our flat-priced $26 wine list and you've got yourself a complete meal for less than the cost of new running shoes.

Normally, I don't pay much attention to these offers, but I don't really see what the "deal" is. $16 is a lot of money for spaghetti and meatballs, even if you eat 2 bowls. Ivy's food is very good, but for bottomless pasta specials try "Pasta Mondays" at Cafe Porto Bello in Southie. For $9.95, you get soup, salad & bottomless pasta. Their food is excellent and the wine by the glass is usually filled to the brim. Mangia!