Moving On

We headed up to Boston around 1pm on Friday, with enough time to check into the hotel before D had to be at his 3:45pm conference (at Harvard, no less!). We made it there in enough time for D to check up in to the hotel and it's a good thing because I would have had a time of it. The hotel took up one big block and had at least three entrances to choose from, all the while trying to keep track of a toddler who had been strapped in for two hours. Actually, he was quite overwhelmed by the whole scene, too, so he wanted to be picked up and I gladly obliged!

During the checking-in process, D asked if we could be upgraded and the guy said we could be upgraded to the Towers for an extra $50, but D wanted a free upgrade option. D said, looking back, it would have been nice to have a two-room suite on the top floor of a huge hotel for an extra $50, but I thought our room was nice enough. We did get upgraded to a Luxury Room, but I think any of their rooms would have been just beautiful (It's on the list of Historic American Hotels). D brought our luggage up to the room and then he was off. M and I explored the hotel: climbing stairs, opening doors, swooshing decorative rocks off of planters, the usual hotel-exploring stuff. With a toddler. Then we headed up to the room because Little Man was still sick and needed a nap. I set up his pack 'n play in the bathroom and turned on the tub for some steam and he went down without a fuss. But he woke up too early only 45 minutes later and the following hour and a half was the most difficult on the trip. He was stuffed up, so I suctioned his nose, he was tired, so we read for a bit, he was hungry, so I fed him his favorite snack of raisins and cranberries, and then he was just antsy. That's when I packed him up and headed downstairs to wait for David. We still had a good half hour to go, but we managed to explore some empty rooms, a few stores, and even watched the cars go by outside from the sidewalk. Looking back, it was actually quite fun, but it was exhausting in the moment! He's not a very demanding child, so I'm glad we don't go through that on a daily basis!

Finally(!), D met us across the street at Maggiano's Little Italy where we enjoyed a very delicious Italian meal. While we were waiting for our table, M was flirting with one particular waitress. He kept giving her the crayons and paper another waitress had given him. And following her when she went to take care of her tables. And blowing her kisses. And don't think that everyone wasn't eating it all up. Because they were. He is unreal sometimes.

Back at the hotel, D was impressed with what our $89 got us. See:

After we put M to bed, we watched Numb3rs (one of our favorites!) and planned the next day.






Unfortunately, there was a big rainstorm on Saturday. Something they had been predicting. But it didn't stop us. I had told D that I wanted to go to Quincy Market for lunch before we left and he was determined to make that happened, downpour and all. I said a few times that we should just leave for home, but he was having none of it. Poor Micah didn't get his morning nap, so he was itching for some sleepytime, but too interested in the sights and sounds to calm down. We ended up parking a few blocks away from the Market and walking in the pounding rain (pushing a stroller and trying to hold one umbrella over the two of us) to some of the yummiest food in Boston. It's like a Farmer's Market of food and I ended up getting a bread bowl with soup in it and D ended up getting some delicious Indian fare that I nibbled from. M enjoyed the extra oyster crackers that the man gave me for him and some rice and whatever else he was able to get his little meaty hands on. We walked around the crowded market for just a bit (not easy with a massive stroller!) before braving the weather again. It was quite fun and I'm glad D persevered!





On the way up, I had asked D if he would mind stopping at Christmas Tree Shop in Manchester since it was on the way and I've been wanting to make my quarterly pilgrimage there anyway. Well, I had forgotten about it in the meantime, but fortunately for me, D remembered! Which he quickly regretted when he found out that I had forgotten. Anyway, we did stop and we were both glad we did because we found some things we've been needing for a good price...and D managed to get 20% off our entire order using a coupon we didn't have! He's just that good :).

By the time we got home, M was practically asking for a nap, so we put him down and promptly watched not one, but TWO, MI-5s :). By the way, Little Man is pretty much all better. No more cough (which I thought would linger for a few weeks), but still has a runny nose (he actually sits still for the suction bulb now...I just tell him we have to say bye-bye to some boogies and he's cool with it!). I'm so thankful it wasn't as nasty as it could have been (I guess Nick is the newest sick member of our family...even though he hasn't been around anyone sick!).