An open letter to American Airlines

This rant is based on a post on my national Adoption board. It seems that one of our members has a friend who recently adopted a child in another state. When she and her husband checked in at American Airlines, they had a car seat and a stroller for their new baby. And the adoption paperwork showing they were going to pick her up. This couple, who had already spent thousands of dollars in adoption fees, and countless hours to complete the adoption process, were charged $100 to check their baby items. Because they didn't have a baby with them. They showed their paperwork, and spoke to a manger, and were still charged. Because they didn't have their child with them yet. Yet there was no charge when they returned with their child.

Really? Are you going to make it that much harder for adoptive parents? Are you really that worried that people are going to "cheat the system" by lugging baby gear to the airport san kids and hoping for a free ride for the gear?

And your response to my complaint on your website? 5 paragraphs basically saying, "We got your complaint, didn't read it, and we listen to our customers."

I already avoid your airline like the plague due to crappy flying experiences. This is just the icing on the cake.

Knitting!

I've also been doing a bit of knitting here and there ;)

So now I get to start something new

Preschool!

It's time for S to have some more structure in her life. And for momma to have a little break now and then. Because she's wonderful and all, but parenting a 2-year-old is HARD.

So we found a great preschool minutes from our house. Brand spanking new, cameras in each classroom, cook on staff to feed the little ones, fabulous teachers, everything we could want.

We waited until our big California trip was over, and we got some potty training under our belts, but Monday was The Day!

So far it's just 2 half-days a week, but S LOVES it! And her teachers love her. They are blown away by her language skills and sentence structures, and said she's talking more like a 3-year-old than a 2-year-old. She cried when she left the first day, she loved it so much. She is having a blast.

Newport Celtic Rock Festival!

What better way to spend an August Saturday?

Posing as we start the day

Pipes and drums

S was not impressed. Tired already

Getting the first of her "face" paintings. A panda on her hand

The Screaming Orphans

Being cute

Taking a break in Newport

Stopping to smell the flowers

Getting face paint #2

Tartan Terrors

Sensing a theme

Gaelic Storm!

We had a great time. The food was good, the music was lovely, and S stayed awake almost through to the end. Almost ;)

You parents will understand

The toddler and I bought her first big girl underpants tonight. It's all going on around here.

Corn festival!

One of our local farms advertised a corn festival, complete with farm animals and a moon bounce. We knew we had to take S.

Clearly she loved the moon bounce slide

Checking out the sheep

I think she liked them more than they liked her

Checking out the cows now

They got reallly close

Heading to the playground with Daddy

Enjoying the yummy corn

A good time was had by all!

What we did on our summer vacation

While J was off in PA getting medieval on a lot of people, S and I headed west to see my parents for the week. That's right, I took a 2-year-old on an airplane. Across the country. And back again. By myself. Somehow we survived.

S gets settled into her seat. She did really well, all things considered. She loved her seatbelt, the tray tables, and our in-seat video screens. Go Virgin America!

The first morning we were there, S woke up at the crack of dawn. She and Nana checked out the fog.

Once we were all sorted, S and Tapa fed the geese across from their apartment.

Then it was time for a walk.

S doesn't look too sure about this yet

I love this picture

Thank you, California, for giving me this amazing lunch. You rock. Oh, and thanks to Dad for making them just so ;)

S took this photo of my parents' "bar". She loved pulling all the water bottles from the bottom. I said they should get this instead:

When the first day was all said and done, Tapa was SO tired. He never even noticed when S brought him her blanket and otters so he could nap properly ;)

Then the cousins came! My brother and sister in law brought their 3 kids, including my niece who is only a year older than S. The first 24 hours were a lot of "No! No!" and "Mine! Mine!" But before I knew it, they were sharing everything. Like a box:

And clothes. Apparently Miss G doesn't like dresses or fancy shoes, so S gets to wear this sassy pair of Mary Janes

After a few days of fog (oh, how i enjoyed fog and 65 degrees in August), we had some clear days, which meant BEACH!

S wanted nothing to do with the water at first, and preferred to hang out in the sand (or as she put it, her "sandbox"). But I think she caved to peer pressure and finally headed out into the "deep"

Tapa had to hold her hood so she wouldn't dive into the Pacific

I love sand-covered toddler feet

On those sunny mornings, S would wake up early and have her morning milk on the patio. Here she is modeling another dress from her cousin

Since we were in the neighborhood, a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium was in order. I don't have many pictures, because it's hard to get shots in low light with a gazillion people around and moving animals. Suffice to say we enjoyed the otters, and the sharks and sunfish, and the giant tuna. And the seahorses and jellyfish. But most of all, we enjoyed lunch.

How can you resist that view?

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home. S handled an hour delay on the tarmac pretty well, and is slowly getting back into her sleep schedule. She was delighted to see Daddy return, and we are getting back into the swing of things.

We did find what leaving for 10 days will do to the zucchini garden:

3 lb, 7 5/8 oz. Spam me with recipes!